Conchiglie Pasta with Sausage & Tender Broccoli

Image by Sukaina Rajabali

The excitement of launching the book and the raging hormones of the start of month 8 of pregnancy are like the wrong sauce with the wrong dish. Emotions and tantrums are all over the place these days..

I'm extremely joyful, then nervous, then frantic, then indecisive and then the whole thing starts all over again. But one thing is for sure.. I cannot wait to hold my little munchkins face, and a copy of that book ;)

I must apologize for the absence, and especially for the delayed Arabic posts on the blog, but there really is just that much I can do these days.. Add to that a husband who feels he has been neglected these past 4 months (I admit Phiras did mainly dine on cold dishes or leftovers from the book's shoot), and a son who now is demanding all of Mami's attention, life has been beautifully demanding of me these days. Hamdellah.

I also have been somewhat under a rock these past few months, not really having the time or energy to be out and about, and so I miss my friends terribly. I've made it a point to take it a tad slower these next few months and enjoy the last 2 months before munchkin #2 arrives, and the cookbook launches set off!

Very exciting stuff indeed. In the mean time I will leave you with gorgeous pasta full of yummy greens and flavoursome sausage.. 

Much love,

D xx

Serves 4

Prep & Cook Time: ~40 minutes

·      1 onion, finely chopped

·      2 garlic cloves, minced

·      2 tbsp. tomato paste

·      ½ tsp. dried oregano

·      3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

·      12 sausages of your choice, casings removed

Or 12 Lebanese sausages (Makanek), casings removed

·      2 cups chicken stock

·      1 cup cooking cream

·      3 cups tender broccoli, cut off stems

·      500g conchiglie pasta or similar

·      Salt & cracked pepper to taste

·      Parmesan to taste

·      ¼ cup toasted pine nuts

1. In a pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil. Sauté the onions until translucent, add the garlic and cook until slightly golden.
2. Add tomato paste, oregano, half the parsley and cook for a minute before adding the sausages.
3. Break up the sausages into bite sized pieces, cooking them for a few minutes.
4. Add stock, cream and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
5. In the mean time cook the broccoli in boiling water for 2 - 3 minutes until tender but firm. Drain and set aside.
6. Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack to al dente.
7. Once sauce is ready, check for seasoning and add a little Parmesan to taste. Add the cooked pasta then the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes to warm through.
8. Sprinkle with remaining parsley, pine nuts and serve with Parmesan on the side. Enjoy!