Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Romanitas, and Almonds

We just came back from Austin, and had way too much meat. (It's not that much bigger in Texas.) This is one of many detox meals since.

Ingredients

2 servings of orecchiette pasta

2 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1/2 bunch of broccoli rabe, top and stems cut into into one inch pieces, with a diagonal cut

10 romanitas, halved

1/2 cup of white wine

1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

lemon zest from 1/4 of lemon skin

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

parmiggiano to garnish

salt and pepper to taste

1. Prep all the veggies as you bring water to a boil for the pasta. The process doesn't take long, so by the time you finish cooking the broccolini, your pasta should be done. Make sure to salt the water, to taste like the sea. I find that a handful of rock salt is enough for a medium pot.
2. Lightly toast almonds in a dry sauce pan. Set aside.
3. Put in your pasta to cook.
4. Heat the olive oil over low-med heat.
5. Add garlic and red chili flakes to scent the oil. Let garlic soften and slightly brown, but do not carmelize or burn.
6. Add broccolini, romanitas, white wine, lemon juice and zest to the pan. Turn up the heat so that the wine can burn off.
7. Add just a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper.
8. After the liquid is reduced in half, put a lid on the sauce pan, reduce the heat to low.
9. When the orecchiette is under one minute done, drain, reserve 1/3 cup pasta water.
10. Turn up the heat to medium, remove the pan lid.
11. Toss orecchiette and water into sauce pan and cook with broccolini mix until the liquid is almost gone.
12. Toss with almonds, sprinkle with parmiggiano and serve.