The original recipe uses turnip tops which no normal household has to hand but suggests the substitution of broccoli which works perfectly and are what we use. The little verdant, irony fluerettes provide a wonderful base for the vibrant chilli and garlic and the Oricciette, literally meaning little ears, cup the sauce beautifully. Geometry of pasta recommends using fresh ones but I think the De Cecco ones are still delicious.
Here is Locatelli's Recipe with broccoli
Serves 4
400g dried Orecchiette pasta
3 small bunches of turnip tops or broccoli
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced
400g dried orecchiette
2 anchovy fillets
Salt and pepper
Take the leaves and florets of the turnip tops or broccoli from their stalks and blanch them in boiling salted water for about a minute. Drain and squeeze to remove the excess water. Chop very finely.
Warm half the olive oil in a large sauté pan, add the garlic and chilli, and gently cook without allowing them to colour. Then add the turnip tops and toss around. Add another tablespoon of olive oil.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, salt it, put in the orecchiette and cook for about a minute less than the time given on the packet, until al dente.
Ladle a little of the pasta cooking water into the other pan. Then turn down the heat and add the anchovies. Let them dissolve, without frying them, stirring all the time. Taste and season if necessary .
When the pasta is cooked, drain, and add the pasta to the pan containing the sauce. Toss around for 2-3 minutes, so that the turnip tops cook a little more and begin to cling to the pasta. Add the rest of the olive oil, toss well to coat and serve.
