Serves 4-6
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 large bunch of rapini or escarole (the milder of the two), washed, dried and cut into 1 1/2-inch-sized pieces. Slice thick stems of rapini in half.
1 pound penne
1/3 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt a large pot of boiling water for the pasta. Heat a large nonstick saute pan to medium-high heat. Once the pan gets hot, add the corn oil to coat the bottom. Remove the sausage from its casings and brown in the hot pan, breaking up the sausage into bite-sized pieces as it cooks. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and drain on paper towels.
Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Return the saute pan to the stove, heat to medium-high. Add olive oil. Saute the garlic for 1 minute; do not let it brown.
Add rapini, handfuls at a time, and toss with the olive oil and garlic. Add 3/4 cup of cooking liquid from the pasta pot to the rapini mixture. Cook the rapini until wilted and tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked sausage and gently mix.
Cook the penne until al dente, drain, and place in a large bowl. Place the sausage-rapini mixture on top of the pasta, sprinkle with the Romano cheese, and gently toss together. Serve with additional cheese on the side.
