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Orecchiette con carciofi (Orecchiette with artichokes)
Orecchiette, 'little ears' are Puglian pasta rounds made from a simple flour and water dough. They're pressed with the thumb to look a bit like an ear. The sauce sits nicely in the scoop of the pasta, perfect for a rich sugo. In Puglia the garlic is often left whole and allowed to brown, giving a subtler, aromatic flavour.
You will need:
- Hearts of 2 medium artichokes, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled but kept whole
- 1 piece peperoncino (dried chilli), crumbled
- 2-3 fresh bay leaves
- Maldon sea salt
- 360g orecchiette pasta
Warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan. Add the garlic and cook it slowly, allowing it to brown. The flavour changes very noticeably. Add the chilli, the bay leaves and the sliced artichokes, and season the artichokes with some sea salt. Turn them in the flavoured oil for a few minutes. Add 2-3 teaspoons water, covering the frying pan with a lid so that the artichokes soften and cook in their own steam without frying. Taste the sauce to check the seasoning. The flavour is distinctive.
Cook the orecchiette in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. They usually take about 12 minutes. Drain them and toss them into the artichoke sugo, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking water to add more moisture if necessary.
The pasta is usually served with a bay leaf and whole garlic clove on the plate, but neither is eaten.
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Spaghettini aromatici (Aromatic spaghettini)
You will need:
- 1 tablespoon salted capers
- 2-3 salted anchovy fillets
- 360g spaghettini
- Maldon sea salt
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- a piece of peperoncino (dried chilli)
- 1 tablespoon black olives, Taggiasche if possible, stoned and chopped
- 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Soak the capers in cold water for 20 minutes or so to get rid of the excess salt, then drain and chop them. Wash the salted anchovies under lots of cold running water. Pull the fillet from the bone, pat dry and chop roughly.
Start to cook the spaghettini in plenty of boiling salted water.
Warm the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and a good pinch of chilli, and cook gently to flavour the oil. Remove both before they start to brown. Add the chopped anchovy and fry gently until it starts to dissolve, mashing it down into the oil with a wooden spoon.
Drain the pasta while it is still a bit undercooked, saving a cup of the cooking water. Toss the pasta into the oil in the frying pan. Add the olives, capers and fresh herbs and cook everything together, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if necessary.
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Pesto alla Genovese
If you see large bunches of fresh basil or you grow it in abundance on your windowsill, make some fresh Genoese pesto. It is a real treat. It freezes well, so it's worth making more and keeping some for later, cooler months.
You will need:
- 3-4 handfuls fresh basil (at least 100g)
- 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
- Maldon sea salt, about ½ teaspoon to start
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano (slightly salty, hard Pecorino)
- 6 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil, Ligurian if at all possible
Pesto really tastes best when it's made in a pestle and mortar. There is a knack to using one and it does take a bit more elbow grease, but the result is worth the effort. 'Pesto' means to crush or pound, just what you need to do.
Pick the basil leaves from the stalks, discarding any that are bruised or damaged. Don't wash them.
Put the chopped garlic, a pinch of Maldon sea salt and some of the basil leaves, torn up, in the mortar. The rough salt provides some friction needed to grind the basil leaves. It also helps preserve their vibrant, bright green colour. Gradually add more and more leaves to the mortar until it is all ground down.
Now add the pine nuts and the two cheeses (or use the combined quantity of one cheese). The pesto is more appetising if it is rough and textured. I like to see some of the pine nuts just crushed and no more. Lastly blend in the oil, enough to make a nice, thick consistency. Check the flavour and adjust as necessary. I don't like it too garlicky.
Spoon this on to drained, piping hot pasta, and toss it well with a fork and spoon. A spoonful in soup or spring vegetable risotto lifts their flavour from good to sublime.
If you store the pesto in a sterilised jar it will keep a few days in the fridge. I usually cover the surface with a little olive oil to stop it oxidising and going brown. Don't be tempted to store it for too long, as the garlic may become overpowering. I prefer to make a little as I need it and freeze any excess in ice cube trays, tipping it out into soups or pasta as I want.
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