While most people are trying to cut back on their carbohydrate intake, I still like to eat pasta a few times a week. I consider it carbo loading for all those hours that I’m sitting in front of the computer. Of course pasta is great with tomato sauce but pasta with olive oil is just as tasty. And what better way to eat pasta “aioli” than with sausage, broccoli rabe and sun dried tomatoes.


Broccoli Rabe is a common vegetable in Italian cooking. It can also be referred to as Broccoli Raab, Rapini or Cime di Rapa. It’s a leafy green with pointy leaves and small buds that look like tiny heads of broccoli. Some say that Broccoli Rabe’s bitter, nutty almost mustard like flavor is an acquired taste and I’d have to agree with them. I didn’t start liking it until I was an adult.


I grow Broccoli Rabe in my vegetable garden as a cool season crop. Be sure to check out my gardening blog for more information about growing Broccoli Rabe.


Cavatelli served with Broccoli Rabe, Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes is a great way to carbo load and it tastes good too.