🍝
Fresh Handmade Orecchiette
“Puglia's Sunday pasta, made the way grandmothers still make it.”
Orecchiette made from durum wheat semolina, shaped by hand by a small pasta maker in Salento and packed fresh, in a protective atmosphere.
Handmade Fresh pasta 500 g bag
Pasta is one of the great symbols of Italian food, and fresh pasta even more so. For an Italian there is nothing more inviting than a plate of homemade pasta, dressed with a simple fresh tomato sauce or a meat ragù.
Semolina orecchiette are the great classic of Puglia, the pasta that on Sundays is often still made by hand, following tradition. These have nothing industrial about them: they are handmade by a small artisan pasta maker in Salento, in the province of Lecce, that keeps grandmother's traditions alive. If you have never tasted a plate of orecchiette, this is the right way to start.
The pasta maker
Apulian pasta, made by hand
The orecchiette come from a small local pasta maker in Salento. They are made by hand, the artisan way, with selected local flours, following the principles of a short supply chain and careful control of the raw materials.
The flour used in Puglia for homemade pasta is durum wheat semolina: it gives the dough the right texture and a full flavour, and it holds up well to shaping by hand.
In the kitchen
How to serve orecchiette
|
🥬
With turnip tops
The classic of Apulian cooking: with fresh cime di rapa (turnip tops), or with the turnip tops cream. |
🍅
With fresh tomato
A fresh tomato sauce, chunky and fragrant, perhaps with a pinch of ricotta forte or chilli pepper.
|
|
🥩
With ragù
With a ragù of knife-cut meat, or a rich meat-based sauce.
|
🍄
Cardoncelli, beans and mussels
With a sauce of Apulian cardoncelli mushrooms, or with beans and mussels: honest sauces that taste of Puglia.
|
The tradition
How orecchiette are made by hand
Only a few ingredients — durum wheat semolina, water and a pinch of salt — but it takes skill and patience. In Puglia it is an art handed down from generation to generation.
1 |
The dough Semolina is kneaded with lukewarm water, added a little at a time, and a pinch of salt, until the dough is smooth and elastic. |
2 |
The rest The dough rests for at least 30 minutes, wrapped in a damp cloth. |
3 |
The ropes It is rolled into small ropes, which are cut into little pieces. |
4 |
The thumb Each piece is pressed and dragged with the thumb: that is how the typical little ear shape is born. |
5 |
Drying The orecchiette are left to dry on a clean cloth, before cooking them in plenty of salted water. |
| 💡 |
The orecchiette are packed in a protective atmosphere: it is not a vacuum that presses and squashes the pasta, so they keep their shape. Once they arrive, keep them in the fridge, at about 4 °C: they keep for about 30 days. |
The packaging
Why a protective atmosphere
A protective atmosphere extends the life of fresh pasta without changing it: appearance, shape and flavour stay as they were when it was packed. It is well suited to transport, but the advantage only holds if you start from a fresh, good-quality pasta, like the one we have chosen.
Also try
The other orecchiette in our shop
Product sheet
At a glance
| Product |
Fresh durum wheat semolina orecchiette |
| Size |
500 g bag |
| Made |
By hand, by a small artisan pasta maker in Salento (province of Lecce) |
| Flours |
Durum wheat semolina, local flours from a short supply chain |
| Packaging |
Protective atmosphere |
| Storage |
In the fridge, at about 4 °C, for about 30 days |
FAQ
Everything you want to know
How do I store fresh orecchiette?
In the fridge, at about 4 °C: in their protective-atmosphere pack they keep for about 30 days.
Does the packaging squash the pasta?
No: a protective atmosphere is not a vacuum that presses on the pasta, so the orecchiette keep their shape.
Why are orecchiette shaped like that?
The little cup, made with the thumb, is there to catch the sauce: that is why they go so well with rustic sauces, from fresh tomato to turnip tops.
What flour are they made with?
Durum wheat semolina, the flour used in Puglia for homemade pasta.
How are orecchiette made at home?
Knead semolina with lukewarm water and a pinch of salt, let the dough rest for at least half an hour in a damp cloth, roll it into ropes, cut them into small pieces and press and drag each piece with your thumb. The steps are above.
🌾
An Apulian Sunday, at your table
Durum wheat semolina, the hands of a small pasta maker in Salento and a good rustic sauce: the orecchiette's shape does the rest.
💬 Write to us
Italiano
English
Français
Deutsch
