Recipes

This is one of the most traditional dishes found in Puglia and is renowned throughout Italy.

Orecchiette alle Cime di Rapa combines Orecchiette pasta which literally means “Little Ears” and the tops of broccoli to give a fresh and easy pasta dish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

600g Orecchiette (you can also use the larger Strascinate Pasta)

500g cleaned broccoli

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Garlic cloves

2 anchovies

1 spicy chilli

1)   Ensure that the broccoli has been cleaned, the toughest part of the stalks must be removed, slice the broccoli and place into a saucepan of boiling water with a table spoon of salt.

2)   When the broccoli is halfway through cooking add the orecchiette

3)   While the orecchiette are cooking, slice the garlic and anchovies, fry in Extra Virgin Olive Oil until the garlic is on the verge of cooking. Slice the spicy chilli and add to the garlic and anchovies.

4)   When the pasta is cooked, strain and add to the garlic and anchovies, do not strain completely to maintain the broccoli taste.

5)   Mix together and serve, preferably with a glass of Puglia red wine

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 small leek, thinly sliced into rounds

Fine sea salt

2 1/4 pounds Manila or small littleneck clams, scrubbed

2 pounds of prawns

1/4 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/3 pound spaghettini or spaghetti

1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley plus more for garnish

1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

Instructions

Wash leek well in a bowl of cold water, agitating it, then lift out and pat dry. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot with lid, combine clams, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and wine.

Cover and cook over high heat, shaking pan occasionally, just until clams open, 5 to 7 minutes (littlenecks may take longer, depending on size; discard  any clams that do not open). Reserving cooking liquid, transfer clams to a bowl, then strain cooking liquid into a bowl through a cheesecloth-lined fine-mesh sieve. Remove clams from shells; discard shells. 

Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and set aside (do not rinse). 

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 30 seconds, then add pasta and parsley; toss just to combine. Remove from heat.

In a second large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add leek, carrot and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Add clams and prawns with juice and pasta cooking liquid; gently simmer until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. 

Ladle hot broth into bowls; top with pasta mixture and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Paccheri with calamari is not only a delicious dish but the size of the paccheri mean that it is also an impressive dish to present to your guests.

Ingredients

400g paccheri pasta

500g calamari

200g cherry tomatoes

200g blended peeled tomatoes

30g crushed garlic

15g finely chopped red chili

30g chopped parsley

60ml extra virgin olive oil

100ml fish stock

Preparation

Clean and cut the calamari into bite sized pieces

Cook the crushed garlic and the chili in a large pan with 30 ml of extra virgin olive oil until golden brown

Add the calamari, cherry tomatoes and the blended peeled tomatoes

Meanwhile in another pan boil the paccheri in salted water for about 10 to 11 minutes then drain the pasta, after tasting the pasta to ensure it is Al Dente

Add the pasta to the sauce and keep cooking for few minutes adding the fish stock little by little if it gets dry.

When the paccheri is cooked simply sprinkle it with chopped parsley and extra virgin olive oil for taste, then serve while it’s nice and hot!