Orecchiette pasta with turnips tops (Orecchiette con cime di rapa, region Puglia)

The orecchiette with turnip tops are one of the most well-known dishes of the Italian region Puglia. Although this recipe is usually associated to the city Bari, it is now widespread in the whole region.

Ingredients (4 servings)

6 anchovies

2 cloves of garlic

turnip tops – 600 g

1 fresh chilli pepper

orecchiette (fresh: 500 g or dried: 400 g)

6 tbsp of olive oil

salt

Preparation

Clean the turnips tops by removing wilted or damaged leaves and big and hard stems and by keeping tender parts only. Cut them into pieces and wash under cold tap water. Chop the chilli.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water boils, add the turnips tops and cook them for 4-5 minutes, drain but keep the water. Put the pot with the turnip tops water back to the fire and when it boils again, cook the orecchiette.

In the meantime heat some oil in a pan, add the 2 cloves of garlic (crushed or sliced), the anchovies and the chopped chilli.

Drain the orecchiette al dente but retain some of the cooking water, pour them into the pan and stir for a minute. If they are too dry, add a bit of the water and serve immediately.