Category: Primi

Minestra Spersa

(Wild herbs soup with pork)

Ingredients 

1 escarole

1 kg of wild herbs (and/or other vegetables)

70 g of green onions

500 g of pork, cut into cubes

Pork rind

1 potato

Salt

Extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 hot red pepper

Preparation 

Cook the washed and coarsely chopped vegetables in salted water Call together or separately according to the different varieties). In a large pot of salted water, cook the pork rind and the pork. Add the vegetables and continue to cook. In a separate saucepan, prepare a soffritto with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and hot pepper. Add it to the wild herbs’ soup before serving.

Lagane with Chick Peas

(Also called the Brigand’s Dish”)

Ingredients 

600 g of flour

125 ml of extra virgin olive oil

200 g of peeled tomatoes

300 g of chick-peas

4-6 basil leaves

1 garlic clove

Salt to taste

Preparation 

Knead the flour with tepid water in order to obtain an elastic and smooth dough. Roll out the dough to a thin sheet of pasta. Roll up the sheet of pasta completely. With a knife cut into fettuccine about 1 cm wide. Cook the lagane in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain thoroughly. Soak the chick-peas in salted warm water overnight. The day after, drain them and cook them in water, over low heat, in a terracotta pot, with no salt. In a separate skillet, heat the oil and add the chopped garlic and saute for a few minutes. Remove the garlic and add the peeled tomatoes, the basil and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking for a few minutes. Add the sauce and the lagane to the chick peas. Mix well and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Lagane with Bread Crumbs

Ingredients 

300 g of flour

Salt

Pinch of cinnamon

1 egg

500 ml of vino cotto (sweet “cooked wine”)

200 g of crumb of stale country bread, grated

50 g of chopped almonds

100 g of chopped walnuts

Sugar

100 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation 

Prepare the dough by mixing the flour, the egg, salt and water. Start kneading the dough and continue until you get a ball of smooth and elastic dough. Roll out the dough to a thin sheet of pasta and cut it into 2-3 cm. strips. Cook the lagane in a large pot of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, place a skillet with olive oil over low heat. Add the bread crumbs and saute until they are golden. Remove from the stove and add the almonds, the walnuts, the sugar and the cinnamon. Mix well. Drain the pasta thoroughly. In a soup plate, place a layer or lagane and pour over some sauce and vino cotto.

Orecchiette Potentina Style

Ingredients 

500 g of home-made orecchiette

400 g coarsely ground beef

500 g of ripe tomatoes

2 onions

3-4 basil leaves

2 hot red peppers

150 g of grated Pecorino

250 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Peel and chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and brown the onion and the meat. Add the peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and add the basil leaves. Cook over medium heat adding, if necessary, a ladle of water or broth. Cook the orecchiette in a large pot of salted boiling

water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Pour the sauce over the orecchiette, mix well and sprinkle with grated pecorino. Serve immediately with the chopped hot peppers and the meat on the side.

Orecchiette Matera Style

Ingredients 

500 g of home-made orecchiette

500 g of ripe tomatoes

200 g. boneless lamb

200 g of mozzarella

150 g of grated Pecorino

175 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Cut the meat into cubes and sauté in a medium saucepan with olive oil. Add the peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and continue to cook. In the meantime, cook the orecchiette in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 160° C (320° F). In a terra cotta baking dish, make a layer of orecchiette, and add the sliced mozzarella, the pecorino and the sauce. Continue alternating layers of orecchiette and the rest of ingredients. Finish with the sauce and sprinkle the top with pecorino. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Orecchiette with Turnip Greens

Ingredients 

500 g of turnip greens

250-300 g of orecchiette

(home-made orecchiette with semolina flour, if possible)

Extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 hot red pepper

Bread crumbs

Salt

Preparation 

Clean the turnip greens. Discard hard leaves. Wash and cook them in salted boiling water. Halfway through, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain thoroughly. In the meantime, in a pan sauté the coarsely chopped garlic, the chopped hot red pepper and the bread crumbs for a few minutes. Pour the

sauce over the pasta. Toss very well and serve. Variation: In a pan, heat olive oil and add chopped anchovies fillets. Cook for a few minutes. Add to bread crumb sauce and mix well.

Maccheroni with Bread Crumbs

Ingredients 

500 g of home-made maccheroni

100 g of stale country bread (crumb only)

2 garlic cloves

60 g of parsley

250 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic and the bread crumb (finely crumbled). Mix well with a wooden spoon. In the meantime, cook the maccheroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer it to a serving dish and pour over the bread crumb sauce. Toss very well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Maccheroni with Hot Red Pepper

Ingredients 

500 g of maccheroni

2 hot red peppers

2 sun-dried sweet red peppers

2 garlic cloves

300 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and sauté until it begins to color. Add peppers and continue to cook until they are crunchy. Avoid burning them. Remove the peppers from the pan and crush them in a mortar. Pour the pepper sauce back in the pan with the oil. Cook the maccheroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer to the pan with the pepper sauce and mix well.

Wheat Grains with a Ragu of Lamb and Pork

Ingredients 

350 g of wheat grains

250 g of lamb

250 g of pork

500 g of ripe tomatoes

Grated ricotta salata to taste

2 hot red peppers

175 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Soak the wheat grains in water overnight. The day after, drain them and cook them in boiling water. When the wheat grains are cooked, season with salt. In the meantime, prepare the sauce by browning the lamb and pork, cut into cubes, in olive oil. Add the peeled, seeded and pureed tomatoes and cook over medium heat. Serve the wheat grains with the meat sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped hot peppers and the grated ricotta salata. Serve very hot.