My international readers are true fans of Italian cuisine and sometimes want to try to prepare traditional dishes with their own hands. If you want to know how to make orecchiette, read this post to find out everything about this Apulian pasta. Orecchiette in Italian means small ear, the shape this pasta resembles. But did you know that this single format of pasta has many names that vary from town to town in Puglia? I will explain the best method to prepare the dough and then I’ll also suggest to you some orecchiette recipes.
Homemade orecchiette pasta is so tasty that you can simply season it with a tomato sauce. Otherwise, you can make a dressing with turnip greens, broccoli, cauliflower&bacon, meat sauce, and many other seasonings.
How to make orecchiette at home: preparation time
Here is the time you need to prepare and cook fresh orecchiette pasta at home:
- the preparation takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes,
- the rest of the dough takes about 30 minutes,
- the cooking of the fresh pasta takes 5 minutes.
How to make orecchiette: the tools and ingredients you need
For the homemade dough, you can use your hand or the planetary mixer. To follow the original orecchiette recipe you need some tools:
- sieve,
- food film,
- metal tarot,
- pastry board,
- knife,
- drip tray.
These are the ingredients you need to prepare the dough for 5 people portions of this Apulian pasta:
- 17.63oz semolina flour,
- 1.26cups warm water,
- salt,
- some re-milled durum wheat semolina for sprinkling.
How to make orecchiette by hand
Sift the re-milled durum wheat semolina and drop it on the pastry board. This type of durum grants greater porosity to the pasta. The dough has to be rough and smooth, but not wet. Create a “fountain” of semolina on the pastry board and add the salt. This means you have to make a central hole and add the water a little at a time, slowly beginning to knead. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth. Form a ball and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, wrapped in cling film or in a cotton cloth. Otherwise, if it’s easier for you, you can make the first part in a bowl and when the dough is taking shape, continue to knead it on the pastry board.
How to make orecchiette with the planetary mixer
Sift the semolina into the bowl of the mixer, add the salt and gradually add the water, starting to knead at low speed with the hook. Slowly add the water and knead the dough until you form an elastic ball. Remove it from the mixer, and if necessary, knead it a little longer on the pastry board to form a nice smooth ball. Wrap it with food film and let it rest for at least half an hour.
The forming and cooking of orecchiette
Once the resting time has passed, resume the dough and form the orecchiette. Use the metal tarot or a knife to cut a small piece of dough, similar to a walnut. Form a string, and divide it into many small pieces. Take one piece at a time and with the tip of the knife swipe on the pastry board, turn and give the typical shape to the orecchietta. Cut all the dough into small pieces of about a centimeter and a half, giving them a shape similar to small “ears”.
As you prepare them, transfer them to a dripping pan or tray sprinkled with re-milled durum wheat semolina. Cook the orecchiette in plenty of boiling salted water for more or less 4-5 minutes.
Orecchiette recipes
Orecchiette with turnip top is one of the most typical dishes of Puglia, mainly of Bari province. The secret of this recipe lies right in the perfect cooking of vegetables with pasta. The orecchiette are cooked in boiling water together with the turnip greens to better absorb the aromas. Then you whip them with tasty sautéed anchovies in oil and scented with a clove of garlic.
- The turnip greens must be cleaned by removing the outer leaves, washed, and dried thoroughly. Meanwhile, put a pot on the stove with plenty of salted water, which you will use later to boil the turnip greens.
- In a large pan pour half the dose of oil and add the breadcrumbs, mix and let it brown over medium heat. Boil the cleaned turnip greens for about 5 minutes.
- In a pan pour the remaining oil, a clove of crushed garlic in a shirt, and the anchovy fillets drained from the oil. Stir with a wooden scoop to melt the anchovies in the pan, then remove the garlic and turn off the heat.
- After 5 minutes of cooking the tops, add the orecchiette to the same pot and cook everything for about another 5 minutes. Mix gently, then drain the turnip greens and orecchiette directly into the pan with the sauté. Stir fry briefly and add a pinch of salt.
Marina Saponari tells us how to make authentic orecchiette pasta
Are you planning to travel to the Puglia region and you want to learn there how to prepare orecchiette pasta? You can book a pasta laboratory at Dire Fare Gustare association by Mara and Marina. You’ll have your own working station to prepare by yourself the typical Apulian shapes of fresh pasta.
Marina Saponari from the cooking school Dire Fare Gustare, based in a beautiful Masseria in Puglia, explains in this interview all the secrets about the typical Apulian pasta. Listen to it on Foodietalty channel:
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