With Sausage, Spinach, Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella
The orecchiette shape literally translates to ‘little ear’ and originated in Southern Italy . This pasta is perfect for catching sauce in its cup-like shape . Making the pasta fresh, by hand, is a fun activity to do alone or with friends and family. The dough is mixed together in a matter of minutes and only requires a half hour of rest time before you can start making the pasta. The result is also infinitely better than boxed pasta. The recipe listed below was one of the most popular pasta dishes at my restaurant. There was a time when I tried to remove it from the menu in order to make room for a new dish and I had to put it right back on due to popular demand. I mix hot and sweet Italian sausage together but you can absolutely use one or the other depending on how spicy you like your food. This pasta shape will also work well with my Simple Tomato Sauce.
Handmade Orecchiette
Ingredients
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- extra flour for surface
Instructions
- mix flours and salt together
- add water
- mix together then remove from bowl and knead until dough is elastic (about 5 min)
- Place dough in a bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap
- allow to rest for 30 minutes
Make the shape
- flour a working space on counter
- cut dough into 8 pieces
- roll each piece with your hand into a ½ inch rod
- cut each log into ½ inch pieces
- use your thumb to press and swirl dough into small cup shape
- place pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil
Cooking method
- add ½ tbsp of salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil
- drop orecchiette in pot
- when orrecchiette rises to top allow to cook for another minute
- Total cooking time should be around 5 minutes
Notes
Nutrition
Orecchiette with Sausage, Spinach, Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ pound Sweet Italian Sausage – casing removed
- ½ pound Hot Italian Sausage – casing removed
- 4 cups Baby Spinach
- 1 pint Yellow and Red Grape Tomatoes – cut in half
- 1½ cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Pasta cooking water – from cooking orecchiette
- 2 tbsp Butter
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese- grated
- 6 oz Fresh Mozzarella Cheese – chopped
- 1 lb Orecchiette – cooked al dente (firm)
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp of oil to pan
- Mix hot and sweet sausage together and add to pan
- Use a spoon to break up the meat while it begins to brown – around 5 min.
- Remove sausage from pan and set aside
- Add the remaining tbsp of oil to pan
- Add sliced garlic and cook until light brown on both sides
- Return sausage to pan
- Add tomatoes and cook for 5 min.
- Add spinach, chicken broth and pasta water
- When spinach is wilted add cooked orecchiette and butter allow to simmer in broth for a few minutes
- Add grated parmesan
- Turn off stove and toss in chopped fresh mozzarella
