The most famous dish of Apulian cuisine
Ingredients for 3-4 people:
- 1 ½ kg of cime di rapa
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 clove of garlic
- 300 grams of orecchiette pasta
- Salt
Preparation:
- Cime di rapa are the still budding flowers of the plant that are consumed along with the tender leaves.
- Clean the cime di rapa.
- Tear the leaves and remove the sprouts at the base of the stem, using the tenderest part of the stem as well.
- Wash thoroughly in plenty of fresh water .
- Cut into large pieces.
- Bring a generous amount of salted water to a boil and add the cime di rapa to the boiling water.
- Cook for 10 minutes and then add the orecchiette, letting them boil for another minute.
- Drain all the water.
- If you prefer it less dry, you can set aside some of the cooking water.
- To season the dish, separately, in a pan with the oil, sauté the sliced garlic.
- Season with garlic, oil, and sliced chili pepper.
Notes:
- If you use fresh orecchiette, follow the above-mentioned times; otherwise, if you use dried pasta, you should boil the orecchiette and cime di rapa separately, following the recommended times on the pasta package.
- There are many different toppings for this dish.
- You can season it with salted anchovies after sautéing them in a little oil.
- You can season it with cherry tomatoes sautéed in garlic and oil.
- In this recipe, I used sautéed garlic, which my father loved so much. A simple but flavorful topping.