Spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella

Name: Spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Spaghetti 11.3 oz; Nduja 0.4 oz; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Broccoli rabe (to be cleaned) 10.6 oz; Water to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Stracciatella cheese 4.9 oz; Nduja 1 oz

it de es fr br

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Spaghetti with broccoli rabe cream—really, really delicious stuff—is a perfect way to dive into the flavors of Southern Italy. In Puglia, cime di rapa, or turnip greens, pretty much rule many pasta dishes. And look, this recipe adds a fun twist with spicy Calabrian nduja and fresh stracciatella cheese. You blend broccoli rabe into a smooth sauce, giving the pasta a velvety texture. And the nduja pasta? Super tasty, adding a spicy kick that keeps things exciting. Each bite? It's a mix of tender greens, the heat of nduja, and a cool, milky finish from the stracciatella—seriously good. It's rustic yet a bit fancy and comes together quickly. No complicated ingredients needed.

Every forkful of this dish? Southern Italian vibes, for sure. Folks in Puglia have been making pasta with cime di rapa forever, but adding Calabrian sausage? Way, way better. The creamy cheese melts into the hot spaghetti, creating a rich layer that pairs perfectly with slightly bitter greens. Also, while this version may be a twist on traditional Italian pasta recipes, it sticks to using simple, regional ingredients. And that's what makes it really good. Spaghetti with broccoli rabe stands out because it mixes everything people love about spicy pasta dishes and creamy pasta sauces without being heavy.

So, serve it for dinner with friends, or when you crave a taste of the Mediterranean at home. Either way, you'll love those tangy, golden flavors that make Southern Italian food unforgettable. This stracciatella cheese recipe will be one you go back to—again and again—with its exciting mix of textures and flavors in every bite. It's a dish that really brings the spirit of Southern Italy to your table—making every meal feel special and satisfying. For real.

INGREDIENTS

Spaghetti 11.3 oz (320 g)

Nduja 0.4 oz (10 g)

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

For the turnip greens cream: Broccoli rabe 10.6 oz (300 g) - (to be cleaned); Water to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

For the stracciatella and nduja cream: Stracciatella cheese 4.9 oz (140 g); Nduja 1 oz (30 g)

Preparation

How to prepare Spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella

To prepare the spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella, first separate the tops and leaves of the turnip greens from the stem 1. Blanch them in lightly salted boiling water for a few seconds 2, then drain and immerse them in ice water 3 to stop the cooking and preserve the color. Keep the cooking water aside, as it will be needed later to cook the pasta.

Drain and squeeze the turnip greens well 4, then transfer them to a jug. Add a little water 5 and season with salt and pepper 6.

Add the oil 7 and blend 8 with an immersion blender until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream 9.

Cook the spaghetti in the turnip greens' cooking water 10. Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, put 0.35 oz of nduja with a drizzle of oil 11 and let it melt over very low heat. In the meantime, put the stracciatella and 1 oz of nduja in a jug 12.

Blend 13 until you get a homogeneous cream 14, then transfer it to a piping bag 15.

Add a ladle of pasta cooking water to the pan 16, then drain the spaghetti al dente 17. Add the turnip greens cream 18 and another ladle of cooking water, then quickly toss everything to mix the dressing.

Turn off the heat and mix with a drizzle of oil 19. Plate by adding a few dollops of stracciatella nduja cream 20. Your spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella is ready to be enjoyed 21!

Storage

It's recommended to consume the spaghetti with turnip greens cream, nduja, and stracciatella immediately; if you have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator, in a closed container, for up to one day.

Advice

Taste the nduja before using it, to adjust the amount according to the level of spiciness!

For a meat-free version, you can replace the nduja with a roasted red pepper cream blended with a pinch of chili to maintain a spicy note.

Instead of stracciatella, you can use burrata or fresh ricotta, which will provide a similar texture but a milder flavor.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.