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Orecchiette con le cime di rapa

Puglia · No.34 / 103

Orecchiette con le cime di rapa

Orecchiette con le cime di rapa, 3 ways

A Puglian home dish where orecchiette are tossed with a soffritto of anchovy and garlic and blanched cime di rapa (a bitter green similar to rapini). Styles diverge on whether the pasta is handmade or dried, whether breadcrumbs stand in for cheese to add crunch, and whether tomato paste is added for sweetness.

GialloZafferano Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer) Pasta Grammar
30 min · Difficulty ●●○○○ · 2videos

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GialloZafferanoItaly's largest recipe media outlet (founded 2006, now under Mondadori) Source verified

Hand-shapes the pasta from scratch, co-boiled with the greens

  • Full from-scratch pasta-making method, not store-bought dried orecchiette
  • Greens and pasta co-boiled in the same pot, then drained straight into the soffritto
  • Toasted breadcrumbs stand in for cheese, echoing the dish's cucina povera roots
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In the chef’s words
  • In keeping with tradition, Chef Fabio Abbattista has cooked them for us making homemade orecchiette with durum wheat semolina, cooked in boiling water together with broccoli rabe to better absorb the aromas, stirred with tasty sauteed anchovies in oil flavored with a clove of garlic. source

References: [1] [2]

Source is a recipe page (no video)
Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer)US food media outlet; recipe by Editorial Director Daniel Gritzer Partly unverified

Blanches the rabe for just a minute, emulsifies with pasta water

  • Blanches the broccoli rabe for exactly about a minute to preserve color and bite
  • Treats adding pasta water to the anchovy oil as an explicit emulsification step, boiled hard
  • Makes breadcrumbs from scratch — oven-dried then processed — rather than store-bought
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In the chef’s words
  • Blanching the broccoli rabe leaves and florets quickly in the pasta cooking water before adding them to the skillet with the orecchiette to finish cooking ensures tenderness and keeps their vibrant color. source
  • Toasting well-seasoned breadcrumbs with garlic and plenty of olive oil makes them a worthy stand-in for grated cheese, which was historically too expensive to use in cucina povera. source

References: [1] [2]

Pasta GrammarA husband-and-wife channel: Eva, from Calabria, Italy, and Harper, from the US Source verified

Skips chili, adds a teaspoon of tomato paste instead

  • The only school here that adds a teaspoon of tomato paste, and it skips chili
  • The leanest finish of the three — no cheese, no breadcrumbs
  • States a clear numeric rule: pull the pasta 3 minutes before al dente
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In the chef’s words
  • Add the pasta into the boiling water (yes, the same that the greens were cooked in!) and set a timer for 3 minutes less than the recommended "al dente" cook time. source
  • Stir the tomato paste into the broccoli rabe and remove the garlic clove. source

References: [1]

Compared on 10 axes

Figures are transcribed as written in each video or recipe page

AXIS GialloZafferano Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer) Pasta Grammar
Noodles, quantity, cooking Hand-shaped orecchiette (200g semolina + 100g water = 300g fresh pasta), serves 3340g dried orecchiette, pulled ~3 min shy of al dente155g dried orecchiette, serves 2, pulled 3 min early
Salt in the pasta water "A pinch of salt" in the dough; boiling water is "plenty of salted water", quantity not given"Large pot of salted water" (no percentage given)"Salted generously" (no percentage given)
Preparing the cime di rapa 1kg cime di rapa, only inner leaves and flower used, blanched first for 5 minutes450g broccoli rabe (leaves/florets only), blanched ~1 minute200g broccoli rabe, blanched
Handling the anchovy 3 oil-packed anchovy fillets melted into olive oil4 fillets (5g)3 fillets
Garlic and chili 1 clove, crushed with skin on (in camicia), discarded after flavoring3 minced cloves (15g) + 1/2 tsp chili flakes1 clove, crushed in its skin, no chili used
Tomato paste, present or not Not usedNot used1 tsp tomato paste added (this school's distinguishing point; no stated rationale in the source)
Emulsion and finishing moisture Pasta and greens co-boiled 5 minutes, then drained straight into the pan240ml pasta water added to the anchovy oil, then 60ml more as neededA ladleful of pasta water, plus more as needed, reduced in the skillet
Cheese, present or not Not usedNot used (breadcrumbs stand in)Not used
Finish (breadcrumbs, oil) Raw finishing olive oil + 50g toasted breadcrumbsGarlic breadcrumbs (115g bread + 5g garlic + 30ml oil) + finishing oilNo breadcrumbs or cheese — just reduced to a simple sauce
Time required 30 min prep + 15 min cook = 45 min (as stated)Prep 5 min, cook 65 min, active 30 min, total 80 min (as stated); serves 4Not stated
Source check Source verifiedPartly unverifiedSource verified
GialloZafferano Hand-shapes the pasta from scratch, co-boiled with the greens
Noodles, quantity, cooking
Hand-shaped orecchiette (200g semolina + 100g water = 300g fresh pasta), serves 3
Salt in the pasta water
"A pinch of salt" in the dough; boiling water is "plenty of salted water", quantity not given
Preparing the cime di rapa
1kg cime di rapa, only inner leaves and flower used, blanched first for 5 minutes
Handling the anchovy
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets melted into olive oil
Garlic and chili
1 clove, crushed with skin on (in camicia), discarded after flavoring
Tomato paste, present or not
Not used
Emulsion and finishing moisture
Pasta and greens co-boiled 5 minutes, then drained straight into the pan
Cheese, present or not
Not used
Finish (breadcrumbs, oil)
Raw finishing olive oil + 50g toasted breadcrumbs
Time required
30 min prep + 15 min cook = 45 min (as stated)
Source
Source verified
Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer) Blanches the rabe for just a minute, emulsifies with pasta water
Noodles, quantity, cooking
340g dried orecchiette, pulled ~3 min shy of al dente
Salt in the pasta water
"Large pot of salted water" (no percentage given)
Preparing the cime di rapa
450g broccoli rabe (leaves/florets only), blanched ~1 minute
Handling the anchovy
4 fillets (5g)
Garlic and chili
3 minced cloves (15g) + 1/2 tsp chili flakes
Tomato paste, present or not
Not used
Emulsion and finishing moisture
240ml pasta water added to the anchovy oil, then 60ml more as needed
Cheese, present or not
Not used (breadcrumbs stand in)
Finish (breadcrumbs, oil)
Garlic breadcrumbs (115g bread + 5g garlic + 30ml oil) + finishing oil
Time required
Prep 5 min, cook 65 min, active 30 min, total 80 min (as stated); serves 4
Source
Partly unverified
Pasta Grammar Skips chili, adds a teaspoon of tomato paste instead
Noodles, quantity, cooking
155g dried orecchiette, serves 2, pulled 3 min early
Salt in the pasta water
"Salted generously" (no percentage given)
Preparing the cime di rapa
200g broccoli rabe, blanched
Handling the anchovy
3 fillets
Garlic and chili
1 clove, crushed in its skin, no chili used
Tomato paste, present or not
1 tsp tomato paste added (this school's distinguishing point; no stated rationale in the source)
Emulsion and finishing moisture
A ladleful of pasta water, plus more as needed, reduced in the skillet
Cheese, present or not
Not used
Finish (breadcrumbs, oil)
No breadcrumbs or cheese — just reduced to a simple sauce
Time required
Not stated
Source
Source verified

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1 Pasta & boiling Brand, thickness, salt, water volume, cooking time
2 Base Fat and the main ingredient: rendering, infusing
3 Sauce & emulsion Where you toss, heat level, how much pasta water
4 Finish Cheese, pepper, finishing oil, plating

The map of schools: where the heat is managed

For Orecchiette con le cime di rapa, the fork in the road is how you emulsify and heat

Toss over direct heat

The pan stays on the flame and your hands manage the temperature. Fast, but it takes feel.

Indirect heat

Bain-marie, steam, double boiler or a hand blender. Repeatable, at the cost of one extra step.

  • No styles here

Off the heat

Emulsify after killing the flame, or in a bowl with only the pasta’s residual heat. Hard to get wrong.

  • No styles here
Total timeActual values from 2 styles. Equal values stack vertically
2 min9.8 min17.5 min25.3 min33 minSerious Eats (Daniel Gritzer): Prep 5 min, cook 65 min, active 30 min, total 80 min (as stated); serves 4SEGialloZafferano: 30 min prep + 15 min cook = 45 min (as stated)G

What to serve after this

In an Italian meal the primo (pasta) is followed by a secondo (main course)

Naples & Campania 90 min

Parmigiana di melanzane

Parmigiana di melanzane

A southern Italian vegetable dish of fried eggplant layered with tomato sauce and cheeses such as mozzarella, then baked. It is registered on Italy's Ministry of Agriculture list of traditional foods as a specialty of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily. The name's origin is debated: some dictionaries explain it as "Parma-style," meaning vegetables cooked layered, while others trace it to Parmigiano.

Pairs with: Pasta al Limone / Pesto alla trapanese / Orecchiette con le cime di rapa

Puglia is also a candidate origin, linking the regions. A vegetable-only, light primo, so it moves into the richness of the secondo without layering on tomato or cheese beforehand.

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