Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa — Print Recipe

A rustic pasta dish from Puglia featuring ear-shaped pasta tossed with broccoli rabe, garlic, anchovies, and chili flakes. It is the quintessential dish of the Apulian region in southern Italy.

Ingredients

400g orecchiette pasta
500g broccoli rabe (cime di rapa), trimmed
4 anchovy fillets in oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
50g Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Instructions

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the broccoli rabe for three minutes until just tender, then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve the cooking water.
2 Cook the orecchiette in the same blanching water according to package directions until al dente, then drain and reserve one cup of the starchy pasta water.
3 Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and anchovy fillets, and stir until the anchovies dissolve completely into the oil.
4 Add the blanched broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes to the skillet and saute for three minutes, pressing the greens gently to release their flavor into the oil.
5 Add the drained orecchiette to the skillet and toss everything together over medium heat, adding pasta water as needed, then serve topped with grated Pecorino Romano.

Did You Know?

In the old town of Bari, you can still find elderly women called the massaie sitting outside their doors hand-rolling fresh orecchiette pasta to sell to passersby.