Orecchiette with Fresh Tomato & Ricotta
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Orecchiette, which means “little ears,” first originated in southern Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Known as peasant food in Puglia, orecchiette pasta is often served with broccoli. But it wasn’t until a few hundred years later, in 1596, that we have the first official document to mention orecchiette.
This document outlined the inheritance of a recently deceased master pasta maker who wanted to ensure that his daughter received his cherished pasta recipes and pasta-making tools (and we assume she did, thanks to his carefully constructed will).
Orecchiette recipes have been handed down through families ever since! We hope you enjoy this one created by Libellula’s family chef.
This recipe serves two. However, this is also a great pasta to freeze and enjoy later, so you might want to consider making a bigger batch.
Ingredients
-
Roughly 1 ½ Cups of Durum Wheat Flour
-
Roughly 1 Cup of Water
-
4 Anchovy Fillets Preserved in Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon of Olives
- 1 Teaspoon of Capers
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes
- ½ Cup of Hazelnuts
- 1 Cup of Fresh Ricotta
- Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
For the Pasta
For the Sauce
Directions
Place the flour in a bowl and start adding water, gradually.
Every time you add water, mix the dough with a fork. When the dough starts to look lumpy, start working it with your hands (in the bowl or on a wooden surface if you prefer).
Knead the dough with your hands until you have a smooth, compact ball. If it’s too wet, add more flour. And if it’s too dry, add more water.
Place the dough under a cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes, allowing the gluten to form.
Drain the anchovies and olives from their olive oil.
Rinse the capers in running water (if using salted capers).
In a large blender, add the tomatoes, hazelnuts, capers, anchovies, olives, and half of the ricotta. Add two or three tablespoons of Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Blend everything until smooth, adding the rest of the ricotta, salt, pepper and more olive oil to your taste.
Once the sauce is done, focus on shaping the pasta. Remove a chunk and roll it out to a width of roughly 1 cm.
Use a small butter knife (with a round, not sharp, tip) to cut 1 cm squares out of the dough you rolled.
Place your knife at the top of the square and drag it down, towards you. Once you’ve dragged the pasta out, use your index finger to pop them out, to create a concave shape.
Once you’ve formed all the orecchiette, bring a pot of water to boil and place a handful of rock salt.
Throw in the orecchiette and cook them till they are al dente. If you’re cooking them as soon as you’ve shaped them, they’ll only need a few minutes. If cooking from frozen, they will probably require 10 to 15 minutes of boiling, just taste as you go!
Drain the pasta, reserving some cooking water on one side, and place it in a bowl with half of the sauce.
Mix vigorously to coat the pasta evenly, adding more sauce or some reserved pasta water if necessary.
Top the dish off with a drizzle of Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a few basil leaves!
