Orecchiette Pugliese

this is the OG version that precedes the sausage one we all love.

If you’ve ever had pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage, just know that it’s an American invention. Delicious, yes, traditional (whatever that means anymore) not in Italy, but yes in Little Italy. The idea behind the sausage, is that its sweetness balances out the bitterness of the rabe, cheese is added to soak up some of the fat, while adding more fat (flavor).

That isn’t what we’re making - what we’re making is how it’s done in the south of Italy, where I tried it fifteen years ago. Better, no, different, yes. Simpler? Absolutely! The concept is exactly the same, but it’s done with more affordable ingredients - that are also longer lasting (with the exception of the broccoli rabe). Anchovies bring the sweetness to the party. But here’s the deal - they can be off-putting, especially when you buy cheap ones. Although I’m not an advocate of “more money means better”, in this case, I find it to be true. The glass jars of anchovies, from brands like “Ortiz” sometimes costs $15, but they are more that 10x better than a tin that costs $1.99. Just keep that in mind, no fishy taste, meaty juicy and sweet for the higher price. It makes all the difference, if you’re on the fence about trying this dish.

Lastly, there’s no cheese, just breadcrumbs, plain please - also you can make these at home by toasting some bread until it becomes brittle enough to shatter and then mixing it with olive oil, salt and some spices like garlic powder and red pepper flakes, if you’d like.

ingredients:

1 pound orecchiette pasta

1 pound broccoli rabe, most of the stems removed, and then cut into 3” sections.

~1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

3-4 anchovies

red pepper flakes

plain breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup

equipment:

Large pot for boiling water

Large sauté for mixing everything together

Small sauté for making the breadcrumbs (non-stick is great here)

Spider

steps:

Set the large pot filled with 4-5 quarts of water to a boil.

In the large sauté pan over medium low heat, add 1/3cup of olive oil, the anchovies and the garlic. The anchovies should disintegrate and the garlic shouldn’t ever get beyond slightly golden. Keep an eye on it and adjust as needed.

Once the water is boiling, salt it well, add the pasta and set a timer for 5 minutes shy of what the box says. When the timer goes off add the broccoli to the water with the pasta, stir well and set the timer for an additional 4 minutes - at which point you’ll transfer everything to the garlic, anchovies pan.

In the little pan over high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil, the plan breadcrumbs, a pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes. Toss or stir well, until everything is golden brown, shut off the heat.

transfer the pasta and the rabe to the oil pan, turn heat to high and mix well for 1 minute. shut off the heat, Add 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt for salt.

Plate, add bread crumbs onto of each portion to retain textural integrity.