Rigatoni with broccoli and sausage from Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables (page 179) by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg

Ingredients

dried red pepper flakes
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ricotta cheese
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Notes about this recipe

stanley_hw95gj on May 09, 2026

I feel it’s better when made as a one pot dish after making it a few times as the book instructed. I used a 5 quart sauté pan. You use the same ingredients but a slightly different order. First cook the sausage patties. Then after breaking them up remove them from the pan and try to keep as much of the fat in the pan as possible. Instead of the broccoli stems being cut into coins, square them off and cut into brunoise. Then sauté the diced broccoli with the florets in the fat left by the sausage. When they turn brighter green remove from the pan. Add in about 4 cups of water and the pasta. The water should just fully cover the pasta. Then cover and cook for about half the time it takes to cook the pasta, about 7 minutes. No need to add salt at this point assuming the sausage is well salted. After the 7 minutes take the lid off and continue to cook on medium high for the rest of the time. About a minute or two before the pasta is done you should have about the right amount of pasta water left so add the broccoli and sausage back to the pan. Stir in the whipped ricotta and all the Parmesan to combine. You can reduce the sauce if needed, but it should be close to done. I thought this recipe needed a bit of acid to help balance it so I’d recommend adding a tsp or two of lemon juice or sherry vinegar. It was pretty good this way in my opinion
Pimlicocook on February 05, 2026

The whipped ricotta makes a delicious creamy sauce that works beautifully with the sausage and broccoli: I used extra, dolloping and stirring it in until it looked good. Also generous with broccoli. Used panko breadcrumbs, toasted in olive oil - definitely adds to textures! Would make again.
thefritschkitchen on January 09, 2026

Doubled up on the broccoli and did 12 oz of protein pasta. And doubled the whipped ricotta . It ended up being SO much - but blessing in disguise I made the leftovers into a baked pasta with my leftover (plain) ricotta. Delicious! In think adding some lemon zest to the breadcrumbs would be superb. Also, just hand whisked in the olive oil into the ricotta. Worked great
nicolepellegrini on February 09, 2025

OK this recipe slaps hard. Easily my favorite pasta recipe from this book - I haven't been wowed by some of the others but this one hits every note perfect. The whipped ricotta is something I could eat by itself but this is the first time I've used it in a pasta sauce and it makes such a good creamy binder with just a bit of pasta cooking water. I made the sausage patties as described and they cooked just right. Will definitely plan on making this again.
aistern on January 14, 2025

Really enjoyed this dish! Cooking the sausage as patties elevated the crumbles vs crumbling right away. I doubled the recipe without doubling the sausage and thought the ratio of pasta:broccoli:meat were just right
fbcd on July 20, 2022

2022-07-19 Made a 1/4 recipe but forgot the breadcrumbs, which was too bad. The texture might have lifted this. It made almost 2 servings and was tasty. Fine for a simple mid week supper, but not that special.
KillaBee2k5 on March 14, 2022

Very good recipe as is. The whipped ricotta by itself is pretty amazing stuff that can have many uses!
Hansyhobs on March 03, 2022

Really tasty
Rinshin on September 29, 2021

We liked this very much. Like allisonsemele, made it with half pound Italian sausage instead of full pound and it was the right portion for us. Made with paccheri pasta because we like its texture and how it absorbs the flavor. Cooking broccoli to right doneness is important to this recipe to prevent mushiness in the sauce and 3 min boiling with pasta worked perfectly for me. Interesting idea making ricotta into ricotta cream. I made half cup portion needed for this recipe instead of 1 1/2 cup. Repeat recipe for me when I am looking for a simple quick pasta with high proportion of vegetable. Photo added.
allisonsemele on July 01, 2021

I thought this was absolutely delicious. Made some modifications based on what I had on hand: large head of broccoli (didn’t weigh it), a bit less than half a pound of Italian sausage, regular ricotta (used a bit extra), and 2/3 lb rigatoni. I really liked if this way, and would repeat these modifications. The full amount of sausage would have been too heavy for me, I think. This version tasted rich without being heavy. There are a lot of textures here, especially with the optional breadcrumbs.
Lepa on June 29, 2021

This was good but not as great as I hoped. I expected it to be creamier or for there to be more of a sauce. That said, we liked it and I anticipate making this again.
Ileana on June 22, 2021

Agree with others who say this is a familiar kind of dish, but following this recipe really makes an outstanding version of this pasta. The crunchy bits from the crumbled sausage patties are just *chef's kiss*. Didn't have ricotta so I made the whipped feta from page 37 and did a 1:1 sub. Will repeat.
Barb_N on February 18, 2021

I feel like I’ve made other iterations of this. I subbed penne for rigatoni and chèvre for ricotta. I liked the goaty addition to the flavor profile. I added wild mushrooms that needed using; they added a nice dimension. Placing the sliced garlic in olive oil before it hits the heat seemed to save it from burning, an all too common fate in my kitchen. I used pre cooked chicken sausage for expedience but I know it would be better with bulk (pork) sausage. Definitely will be a repeat.
Astrid5555 on January 22, 2021

Instant family winner, so good. Loved the fact that this recipe also uses the broccoli stalks. Will definitely repeat!
C_Richardson on October 13, 2020

Hands-down, one of our family favorites! It's not the most creative recipe in the world but it's hearty and delicious. I have a lot of picky eaters in my extended family and this is a winner. I love it because it's simple, fresh, and can be whipped up quickly. It also uses ALL of the broccoli - no waste here!
bernalgirl on September 01, 2020

This is a perfectly creamy and savory pasta dinner that comes together quickly. The sausage and broccoli are a natural that is improved by his cooking method, creating crispy bits throughout, and the whipped ricotta is worth the five minutes for the wonderfully creamy sauce it contributes to the finished dish. I used cavatappi in a nod to the classic orecchiette dish, and my family loved this.
pattyatbryce on September 05, 2019

Super easy and a great riff on the usual. However, it is a flavor bomb vs other recipes I've had that were weak imitations. Make this, eat this, and prove me wrong.
puddlemere on January 22, 2019

I agree this was nothing earth-shattering, but a classic combination and still quite good. I didn't bother making the sausage into patties. Love the whipped ricotta, and he says the dried breadcrumbs are optional, but I highly recommend them for the extra crunch and toasty flavor.
sberes on October 01, 2018

So good but I added too much salt to the noodles. Also would rather eat fresh, did not rewarm well. I bought ground Italian sausage not in casing .
clcorbi on October 11, 2017

Made for dinner last night--this was good, but not quite as good as I was expecting. I liked the idea of crisping the sausage patties and then breaking them apart, but in practice, once the broccoli rounds and garlic were added, the sausage stopped crisping because the pan got crowded. The sausage also didn't get cooked all the way through in the amount of time specified, which was fine--I just broke the patties apart and cooked them for longer, but I felt that the point of the technique was kind of defeated. As with the ragu recipe I made from this book, the amount of dry pasta called for didn't seem to be enough for the amount of sauce produced. I think .75lb of dry rigatoni would have been a better pasta/sauce ratio. Anyway, the finished dish was very tasty, and certainly weeknight friendly--it just wasn't anything earth-shattering.