Neapolitan Friarielli with Sausage

From the garden

• 2 lb broccoli raab (friarielli), trimmed, cut to a uniform length
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

From the pantry

• 1½ lb Italian sausage links, sweet or hot · left whole, not crumbled
• ¾ tsp red pepper flakes · or two small dried peperoncini, crumbled
• 5 tbsp olive oil · divided between the sausages and the greens
• 8 slices crusty bread, thick-cut · for serving
• salt · for the blanching water and to taste
• black pepper

1. Trim each shoot where the stem stops snapping cleanly, peel the thickest lower stems the way you would asparagus, and cut leaves, stems, and buds to one length so they cook in the same time. Soak the cut shoots in salted water for five minutes first if aphids were hiding in the bud clusters, then drain.
2. Boil a large pot of well-salted water and drop the raab in for 60–90 seconds, until the stems bend easily and the color deepens. Lift it out with tongs, saving a cup of the water, and press the greens to squeeze out the rest. Skipping this blanch is why most people decide they dislike raab.
3. Brown the sausages in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat, turning them, until the casings are deep gold and the centers are cooked through, 12–14 minutes. Move them to a plate.
4. Pour off any scorched fat, add the remaining oil with the garlic and pepper flakes, and cook over medium-low until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet, about 2 minutes. Let it brown here and the whole pan turns acrid.
5. Add the blanched raab and a good pinch of salt, raise the heat, and toss for 5 minutes, splashing in some of the blanching water whenever the pan looks dry.
6. Nestle the sausages and their juices back into the greens, cover, and cook 3 minutes more so the fat runs down through them. Grind over black pepper and serve from the pan with thick slices of crusty bread.