Guest/Restaurant Attempt: Osteria Mozza's Orecchiette with Sausage & Swiss Chard

Dear Readers:

Have you had the extreme pleasure of dining at Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza? Were you fortunate enough to order the orecchiette with sausage and swiss chard?

OK, well, our friends Sara and Sean had and decided to take on the challenge of recreating it.

Being the rare (never done before) restaurant attempt, we had to get a little unorthodox when it came to the "their version" photo. We found this one via Food GPS and it's taken of the actual dish served at Mozza.

Osteria Mozza's version:

Sara and Sean's version:

I wish every attempt were like this attempt. Not just because Matt and I didn't have to do everything or because it was delicious, but because it was picture perfect, and by that I mean: Sara knows how to take a picture that is perfect.

This recipe is mainly about the homemade pasta. And the homemade pasta is mainly about hard work and semolina flour, the latter of which Sean was worried about procuring but ultimately did at Surfas in Culver City.

Once the dough was made, it was rolled into a long tube and sliced into thin ovals.

Then, Sean and Matt placed each of the little ovals in the palm of their hands, one by one, and pressed with their thumbs from their other hand, forming the "little ears."

The sauce was interesting because, despite the reddish hue in the Batali picture, no tomatoes were involved. Swiss chard, on the other hand, is involved. Big time.

Much like our last Batali attempt, the sauce in comparison to the pasta seemed relatively simple: you remove the casings of both hot and sweet sausages and cook the meat with the chicken stock, garlic, swiss chard and hot pepper flakes, adding the olive oil and parmesan cheese at the end.

OK, so truth be told, there's more to why this attempt holds a special place in my heart.

1. Sara made these little menus that deemed the meal my birthday "feast attempt."

2. They served us burrata and heirloom tomatoes as the salad course.

3. Sara made tiramisu and made me blow out a candle, which I haven't done since I was sixteen, possibly longer.

SIDEBAR. I'd like to quote an email just in from Sara: "Go ahead. Rip on the tiramisu. That sh*t was truly dismal. And I blame Batali." OK, so I won't go crazy on the tiramisu (which was also a Batali recipe), but I will say that I think Batali's brandy proportion was a bit off. Every few bites you'd run into what one might call an extreme brandy situation.

4. We topped off the night with a few intense rounds of Memory with this amazing modern / designy version of the game, which reminded me that I have the memory of Izzie Stevens on last season's finale of Grey's Anatomy. Speaking of which, I missed the premiere this season. Did she die or what?

RECIPE via Cook's Illustrated

Note: Osteria Mozza does not just give out their recipes. So, according to readers on chowhound, this is as close as it gets to Mozza's version.
Another Note: We substituted swiss chard for broccoli rabe.
Triple NOTE: We tripled this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Table salt
1/2 pound orecchiette (any from-scratch recipe should do if you are going for homemade)
4 ounces hot italian sausage , casings removed
3 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 pound broccoli rabe , thick ends trimmed, remaining portion cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring 4 quarts water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
2. While the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage until browned in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into 1/2-inch pieces with a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant and slightly toasted, about 1½ minutes. Add the broccoli rabe and chicken broth, cover, and cook until the broccoli rabe turns bright green, 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the broth has evaporated and the broccoli rabe is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the sausage-rabe mixture, oil, and cheese to the pot with the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately.