Basic Orecchiette Recipe

Orecchiette literally translates to little ears and you can see why. They look hard to make, but you will find with a bit of practice it's easy and rewarding. I roll the orecchiette on my homemade gnocchi paddle, to give them a grooved shape, but you can simply use a flat surface as well.

📝 Ingredients

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 100 g semolina flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 150 g/ml warm water

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Mix together the semolina, flour and salt.
2. 2Make a well in the centre and add the water. Mix well and knead to a firm, elastic dough (about 10 minutes). The dough will seem dry at first, but just keep working it. The trick here is in the firmness of the dough, if the dough is too soft you will struggle to shape the orecchiette.
3. 3Shape the dough by rolling it into long rolls, about 2cm in diameter, then cut the logs into sections about 1cm wide.
4. 4Drag the individual sections over a work surface or gnocchi paddle with the tip of a butter knife. Use a slight downward pressure as you drag the pasta towards yourself, not so much as to squash it. This technique will take a bit of practice so don't worry about being perfect.
5. 5Flour your orecchiette so that they do not stick to each other.
6. 6To cook, simply bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the orecchiette (10min).
7. 7Drain and serve with your favourite sauce.