Pasta with Sausage, Kale, and White Beans

An easy one-pot meal with hearty, deep flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• Fresh oregano
• 12 ounces kale
• 1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage
• 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces orecchiette
• 1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Chop onion fine. Mince garlic. Mince 1 ½ teaspoons oregano. Stem kale by cutting away leafy green portion from either side of stalk, then chop leaves into even-size pieces. Remove casings from sausage. Drain and rinse from beans.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook, breaking meat into ½-inch pieces, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in beans and onion and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in fennel seeds, pepper flakes, garlic, and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in broth and 1 cup water, increase heat to high, and bring to boil. Stir in pasta and half of kale. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer vigorously for 4 minutes. Place remaining kale in pot without stirring, cover, and continue to cook until kale is just tender, about 4 minutes.
5. While pasta cooks, grate Pecorino (½ cup).
6. Uncover, stir to incorporate kale, and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed and orecchiette is tender, 3 to 6 minutes. Off heat, stir in Pecorino and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.