The Recipe Has No Secrets
Orecchiette have no secrets. They have only two ingredients — re-milled durum wheat semolina and warm water — and a technique you can only learn with your hands.
My mother taught me this pasta when I was eight years old. Sitting at the marble kitchen table, she would knead and I would watch her fingers transform a rough lump of dough into a perfect little shell.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 500 g re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 230 ml warm water
- A pinch of salt
Nothing else. Orecchiette do not want eggs, do not want oil.
The Technique
Begin with a flour well, add the water little by little and knead with energy for at least 10 minutes, until you have a smooth, compact dough. Then leave to rest for 30 minutes, wrapped in a damp cloth.
The shape is made by dragging a small piece of dough towards you with your thumb, on a lightly floured wooden board. The gesture is quick, decisive — and the pasta curls back on itself like a small ear.
"The first hundred come out crooked. Then the hands understand on their own." — Nonna Carmela
The Classic Dressing
Orecchiette "alle cime di rapa" (with turnip tops) is the most famous dish in Puglian cuisine. But in Salento we also make them with:
- Fresh tomato and salted ricotta
- White lamb ragù
- Ancient-variety tomato sauce with basil
Come and Learn with Us
In our fresh pasta workshop — every Saturday morning — we teach orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro and tria. Two hours, hands in dough, and then we eat what we've made.