(Little ears pasta with bitter turnip greens)

Being part of an Italian family is not always easy! There are so many aunts and

uncles ready to give you their ’best’ recipe! This is one - everyone loves and to tell

the truth, there are very few people in the family who adapt this recipe! It’s one we all stick to (apart from making or buying the orecchiette!)

This is probably what Bari is best known for, apart from the fresh fish, panzarotte,

focaccia, pasta al forno, parmigiana, EVOO, wine, beaches, sundried tomatoes, bad driving and of course football!!  

 

The rape (greens) are a form of wild chicory greens and can be difficult to find in the

UK. A good alternative would be greens that have a bitter taste such as: dandelion

leaves, kale or turnip tops.

Now, the orecchietti is something else! We’re lucky enough to have plenty of aunties who make it and on the rare occasion they don’t feel up to making it, we can buy it locally – and it’s fresh! Do not despair! You can get dried orecchietti – not the same but not a bad alternative! Or ... you can make your own!

Ingredients: 

500 gr. orecchiete pasta 

1 –2 kilos cima di rapa (turnip greens – tops – 2 kg will give you approx 1 kg of

greens) 

Approx 10 tablespoons Terre Di San Vito extra virgin olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, chopped 

red pepper flakes to taste (about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp) 

4-6 anchovy filets

Preparing your dish:

To prepare the greens for cooking you only want the tenderest of the leaves and the

flowering heads. The thick stalks get thrown away. 

 

Prepare all your ingredients before you get started. 

 

Wash and trim your greens. This took me the longest time to figure out! You want all

the tender leaves and the flowering head – that’s the most important part and most

bitter! It’s the cima!  

Anchovies: you can use anchovies packed in oil, ready to go, but I like the ones that

are preserved in salt. This means soaking them for about 10 minutes beforehand, in

room temperature water. Then carefully opening them up, taking out the central

bones, and rinsing them off. Cut them into small pieces. 

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Add the turnip greens and bring the water up to a steady simmer. 

 

While this is cooking, add your evoo into a pan (large enough to hold all the pasta

and greens)

Heat your evoo gently and add the chopped garlic and chili flakes.

When the garlic begins to become fragrant, add the anchovies, mixing and mashing

them up with a wooden spoon.

Turn off the heat so the garlic doesn’t brown or burn. 

Once the greens have begun to soften, add the orecchiette to the boiling water with

the turnip greens and boil for a couple ofminutes until they are cooked – al dente = to

the bite.

Orecchiette is a tricky pasta to get right. You want it to be cooked through, but still

chewy. They will be more ‘al dente’ than other kinds and this is what you want – that

it has a bite!  

 

When it is cooked, drain the pasta and greens in a colander, reserving a cup of the

cooking water. 

 

Turn the heat back on under the pan with the evoo and add the pasta to the pan.

Stir and toss the pasta and greens into the oil over low heat, so that pasta absorbs

the oil and flavours.

Add a bit of cooking water if you think it’s dry. But the broccoli should give the dish

enough moisture. 

 

To serve:

Place into a large serving dish

Serve, making sure you divide the broccoli evenly into each dish.

Drizzle some of of our Terre Di San Vito’s extra virgin olive oil. I am sure you already

have one of our beautiful terracotta jars on your dinner table!

Buon appetito!

Top tip:

You can make a lot of rape and store it for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Use the rape to eat with our fave recipe!

Add as much or as little oil and chili as you like!

Always serve this with a bottle of our fabulous Terre Di San Vito white