Chef critique
Lemony Sausage, Broccoli & Kale Cavatappi
A well-structured, practical weeknight pasta recipe with accurate pasta water salinity, smart vegetable blanching timing, and clear instructions, missing only a squeeze of lemon juice to deliver on the promised lemony brightness.
Score: 9/10
Suggested fixes
- Include 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice from the zested lemon half in the ingredient list and toss it in with the zest in Step 5.
Issues
- low / flavor: Titled 'Lemony' pasta, the recipe uses only the zest of 1/2 lemon and no lemon juice or other acid. Adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice off the heat would brighten the rich sausage and Parmesan emulsion and avoid wasting the zested fruit.
Strengths
- Instructions begin with mise en place and water heating, allowing seamless parallel cooking.
- Pasta water salinity is spot-on at 2% (2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt for 2 quarts of water), and the recipe smartly accounts for the pre-seasoned sausage.
- Staggering the broccoli and kale in the pasta boiling water is efficient and gives specific timing based on kale variety.
- Ingredient quantities are clearly stated in the steps where they are first used and match the ingredient list.