Easy Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long do orecchiette take to cook? ›

For most store-bought dried orecchiette pastas, cook for about 12 minutes until al dente. In the case of fresh pasta, such as Douglass's homemade orecchiette, the time is much shorter, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Orecchiette is a simple ingredient with a big impact. It's more toothsome than many standard pasta shapes with a pleasing texture that adds a touch of easy elegance to your dining routine.

The cooking time varies mainly by the type of pasta: if it is fresh orecchiette it will take just a few minutes, while for the dried ones it will take up to 15 minutes. Fresh orecchiette after a few minutes in water will tend to rise to the surface: this is the sign that they are already cooked.

A typical Puglian pasta, orecchiette (pronounced o-rek-kyet-teh) were named for their shape, which resembles little ears. Made only from semolina, water and salt, their rough surface holds onto sauces and allows them to be prepared in a variety of ways. Now there is a commercial version of this pasta.

Definition of 'orecchiette'

Orecchiette, 'little ears', are small, slightly unevenly shaped saucers, and good for sticky sauces.

Italy's most popular pasta is penne. This quill-shaped pasta is unusual in that it has a very precise origin. It was born in 1865, with a new device patented by Giovanni Battista Capurro in the small town of San Martino d'Albero, near Genoa.

Typically, Italian guidelines recommend the following quantities of uncooked pasta per person: 60-100g of dried pasta. 70-120g of fresh pasta.

Serving Suggestions

In Puglia, orecchiette is traditionally cooked with broccoli rabe (rapini) known as 'cima di rapa' in Italian. This slightly bitter leafy vegetable is very popular in Italy, particularly in the regions of Lazio, Puglia, and Campania, where it is grown.

This is vegetarian, it is vegan and a soul-warming dish that can be eaten hot or cold like a pasta salad. You may want to refresh the dish with a light dressing of extra virgin olive oil and a little lemon juice with a stir before serving if you eat it cold.

Is it better to overcook or undercook pasta? ›

Panella, whose family eatery turned 100 in Rome and is celebrating its 10th anniversary in New York, explains: “Raw pasta is not easy to digest because the body's digestive enzymes cannot adhere to it, whereas overcooked pasta tends to form a sticky dough in the digestive tract, which blocks digestion.

If you can't find orecchiette, substitute any shaped pasta, such as fusilli, farfalle or penne. Clean the broccoli rabe by cutting off 1 inch from the bottom of each stem.

In the vernacular of Taranto they are called recchietedde, or chiancaredde. In Cisternino orecchiette are made with durum wheat; they are larger and take on a different shape, with deep internal ribs, very similar to an ear. They are defined recchie d' privte ( lit. 'priest's ears').

Orecchiette pasta originates from Puglia during the 12^th and 13^th centuries and remains popular throughout Italy to this day. The word 'orecchiette' means 'little ears' Some food historians argue that this pasta arrived in Southern Italy from Provence during the 13th century with the Angevins.

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To save on the hassle of boiling pasta, you can even cook pasta right in its sauce on the stovetop. Add all the ingredients, including the veggies or meat, and dry pasta and let it cook till everything is done, usually in about 20 to 25 minutes.

Most dried ribbons of pasta such as linguine, spaghetti and tagliatelle take between 8-10 mins. Shorter, thicker pasta shapes like bows or penne take 10-12mins and fresh pasta such as ravioli and tortellini will be done between 3-5mins.

Dried orecchiette should be added to the boiling, salted water and left to cook for nine to 12 minutes, the shorter cooking time resulting in an al dente pasta. Read the packaging for the pasta for a more exact cook time. Once cooked, drain both fresh and dried orecchiette and immediately top with sauce.