Rapini is a green cruciferous vegetable with similar taste to broccoli though slightly bitter with and a peppery kick. The stems, leaves and buds are all edible and it’s particularly popular in Meditteranean cuisine. Here’s a bowl of warm comfort food for busy nights, without missing out on your greens.

serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 (about 550g) grass-fed Belted Galloway parsley & cracked pepper beef sausages (or your favourite from the Torello farm range)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

½ cup white wine, or verjuice

2/3 cup stock (chicken, vegetable or beef)

1 bunch rapini, ends trimmed

400g Tuerong Farm fusilli

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to serve

½ cup finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

sea salt, to season

black pepper

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Remove the sausage skins and break the meat into small bite-size pieces. Cut the rapini stalks into 1cm pieces and the leaves into 5cm wide pieces. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. While preparing the sauce cook pasta until al dente according to packet instructions, reserving ½ cup cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat the olive in a large heavy based frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausage pieces and cook for about 4 minutes until dark golden brown. Transfer the sausage to a plate. Pour out excess fat from the frying pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons then return to a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli, stirring occasionally and cook for about a minute. Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer and cook for about a minute until liquid has reduced to about 1-2 tablespoons.

At this point make sure the pasta is nearly al-dente. Pour the stock into frying pan, then quickly bring to a simmer. Add the cooked sausage and scatter the chopped rapini over the top. Cover with a lid and cook until the rapini has just wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of cooking water, then gently toss the drained pasta into the sausage mixture with the parsley and parmesan to just combine. Season with salt and a grinding of pepper. Add a little reserved pasta cooking water to add moisture to the sauce if needed.

Serve immediately with lemon zest and extra parsley and parmesan, scattered over.

Option: For a tomatoe-y sauce, add half a jar of Torello Farm tomato sauce (or a can of crushed tomatoes) when adding the stock and continue on with recipe instructions.

Recipe by Fiona Hammond, June 2023