Tony Rigatoni

...That's "tony" as in fancy, or posh. You wouldn't think that a chunky tubular pasta could be glam, but I think this recipe is. Not only that, but it's easy, and relatively cheap, too! I drew inspiration from two sources to come up with this dish. One is a simple, fairly standard Italian recipe that consists of a chunky shaped pasta, like rigatoni or orecchiette, tossed with chunks of Italian sausage and broccoli rabe. Broccoli rabe (or raab, or rapini), if you don't happen to know, is not related to broccoli, but is actually a type of mustard green. It gets its name from the broccoli-like green buds it sprouts. It has a strong bitter flavor that pairs really well with rich sausage. I don't know what this dish is called, but I have seen it in a lot of places. I got it once at Ciao Italian restaurant in Newport Beach, one of my favorite Italian restaurants ever, and it was so good I've been meaning to make it ever since.

The second source of inspiration came from a pizza topped with garnet yam, arugula, and artichoke pesto on the menu at Avanti Cafe in Costa Mesa. I worked at Avanti for a while, and a lot of what I know about preparing food and being creative and efficient in the kitchen comes from working with those lovely people. Fun times. Anyway, those may sound like weird pizza toppings, but the salty-sweet-bitter combination of flavors balance each other really well and the overall effect is light and delicious. I thought roasted yam would pair similarly well with spicy and salty Italian sausage, and arugula is a bitter salad green that has a very similar flavor to broccoli rabe. So I decided to mix all these things together, and I was quite pleased with the result. The yam really makes the dish seem special, even though it's one of the easier pasta dishes I think I've made. There are a few prep-intensive steps involved, but they are not complex. Also, if you've never roasted yams before except to make that Thanksgiving casserole with the marshmallows on top, you are missing out. Roasted yams are an easy vegetable to prepare, they are extremely good for you, they are delicious, and surprisingly versatile. I recommend you add them to your repertoire of easy vegetable sides if you haven't cooked with them before.

Tony Rigatoni

Olive oil

1 large yam, unpeeled

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

1/4 - 1/2 pound Italian sausage* (one or two largish links), casings removed

4 loosely-packed cups arugula (This seems like a lot, but it will cook down to about a quarter of its volume.)

1/2 pound rigatoni or similar pasta

kosher salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Scrub the yam well, dry, poke with a fork on all sides, and rub all over with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Incidentally, the salt is not for seasoning, but aids cooking by drawing out moisture. This technique is ideal for flaky baked potatoes as well. Cook the yam on a foil-covered baking sheet until a fork can be inserted easily into the center; half an hour to an hour. When the yam is done baking and has cooled for a bit, the skin will come off easily. Chop the yam (or use a large spoon or melon baller to scoop it out of the skin) into bite-sized chunks, and set aside. Put pasta water on to boil. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add the sausage, using the side of a wooden spoon or spatula to break it up into small chunks. Allow the sausage to cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is thoroughly cooked and well browned on all sides. Add the arugula to the skillet and cook in the sausage drippings until it is just wilted. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni, testing frequently**. When the pasta is done and drained, toss everything together and serve immediately, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper and topped with a little fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. Four servings.

*I used sweet Italian sausage, but in the future I might try spicy. A little more spice would kick this up a notch, as Emeril Legasse might say.

**Mushy, over-cooked pasta is unacceptable to the Sexy Divorcee. Something I learned at Avanti: When cooking pasta, NEVER trust the cooking time given on the package. Cooking times for different kinds of pasta vary widely, so you should always test your pasta frequently as it cooks until you get a piece that is just slightly undercooked. By the time you turn the heat off and drain your pasta, it will be perfectly al dente. Rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking. Even if you find that your pasta is a little too al dente at first, it will soften up when it sits in the fridge and your leftovers will be a nice texture instead of soggy, like leftover pasta can tend to be.