Orecchiette with Tenderstem Broccoli & Ricotta Salata

Say hello to one of my favourite pasta recipes, one that combines simplicity and flavour. Like most “authentic” pasta recipes it literally takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and you only need a few very simple ingredients. This recipe tends to be better suited to short pasta types like penne, mezze maniche or orecchiette.

Personally I would recommend the latter; the chewy texture of orecchiette is a perfect contrast to the soft Tenderstem and the tiny broccoli florets love to get trapped inside them. However, it can be a bit tricky to find orecchiette if you’re not in Italy. That’s why I am also going to add a short video and recipe showing how to make your own — but if you don’t fancy that or you can’t find them, any store-bought pasta you like will work fine.

 Whilst popular across Italy even in this version, this recipe is an adaptation of the classic Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa. Cime di Rapa are a type of greens that have little clusters of buds that aren’t too dissimilar from small broccoli heads, but they are impossible to find out of season and outside of Italy. Using Tenderstem broccoli is the closest you’re going to get, but trust me it’s not a big trade off.

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Ingredients

150-200gr tenderstem broccoli
1 fresh chilli
2 cloves of garlic
A lot of olive oil
Ricotta salata

If you want to make your own orecchiette

400g re-milled Durum Wheat Semolina
200g water

Cooking time & People

20min (excluding the time it takes to make the orecchiette)

Feeds 3 people

Step by step

If you are making your own orecchiette

Mix the Semolina and water and knead with your hands for 5 to 10 minutes. As soon as the dough comes together and feels elastic, wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 30min.

Roll with your hands a long string of dough of roughly 1cm thickness. With a knife cut little nuggets of dough of roughly 1cm.

Use a blunt knife to press the nugget of dough, dragging the knife towards you. By dragging the knife towards you, the dough will curl up resembling a little shell.

Pick up a little shell and turn it inside out using your thumb. Here’s your first orecchiette.

Let them dry for a few hours laying on a kitchen cloth with flour.

Watch the video for a better explanation! https://vimeo.com/438961777

For the Broccoli

• Cut the tenderstem into small pieces. Include the stems too and cut them in small roundels

• Bring a pan of water to boil, add a handful of coarse salt land cook the broccoli for 4-5 minutes. Take them out as soon as you can poke them with a fork and put them under cold running water for a few seconds 

• Separately, in a frying pan put the olive oil, crushed garlic and thinly sliced chilli. Sauté at medium heat for a few minutes

•  Bring a pan of water to boil for you pasta. Remember to add a handful of coarse salt as soon as it starts boiling

•  Add the broccoli to the pan, a tiny bit of salt and sauté until the broccoli become really soft. You want them to be soft so when you mix the pasta the smaller bits almost turn into a cream. If you feel they are too dry when you sauté them add a bit of extra oil

• Boil your pasta. When your pasta is ready, strain the water. Mix the pasta and broccoli together (not on the hob)

• Serve your pasta with grated ricotta salata on top

Tips and cheats

If you want to get a more intense flavour, add a chopped anchovy in your garlic and chili soffritto.

If you are vegan, substitute the ricotta salata with toasted almond flakes.

This pasta doesn’t really have a sauce, so you have to make sure you add a generous amount of olive oil in the pan if you don’t want to end up with a dry dish with a few broccoli florets.

The same recipe works wonderfully with Cavolo Nero instead of tenderstem broccoli.