Comments on: Winging it: Homemade Orecchiette with Romanescu Cauliflower

By: Busy Day Veg – A cooking blog - Kitchenist

Busy Day Veg – A cooking blog - Kitchenist — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:19:07 +0000

[...] I didn’t buy much this week; Andrew and I are off to visit his family on Thursday, so don’t really need to worry about too many dinners this week. A giant leek will make a make a nice warming risotto one night, and a stalk of mini Brussels sprouts will be delicious baked in a gratin dish, covered with cheese and breadcrumbs. The eggs and bread will make some warming winter breakfasts, and the Romanescu might go into a favourite pasta dish. [...]

By: zoe

zoe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:33:07 +0000

Great job on this. Beautiful!

By: June round-up - A cooking blog - Kitchenist

June round-up - A cooking blog - Kitchenist — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:51:01 +0000

[...] My focus at Kitchenist this month has been on fresh, local produce from the market. Feeling a touch nostalgic for last year’s summer holiday to Cinque Terre, I spent a lot of time indulging my love of Italian food. I re-created a recipe for Trenette al Pesto, made Stromboli, and even tackled my own Homemade Orecchiette. [...]

By: Ele

Ele — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:32:38 +0000

Hilary, that’s weird. I also searched out some videos and they were all using thumbs, not knives. (The man I saw was definitely Italian… not sure if that counts for anything?) I think the semolina is also what makes the texture rough.

Glad you liked the recipe!

By: Hilary

Hilary — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:58:38 +0000

I made this for today’s (earlyish for us) dinner. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube to see how to shape it because I wasn’t quite sure I had the idea from your description. The videos both used knives instead of fingers to stretch the little pieces of dough – and it seems like the knife is what creates the rough appearance that we see on orrecchiette in the stores. So is there one school of thought for fingers and one for knives, I wonder?

Anyway, it took ages but was quite easy when you get the hang of it! Mine were quite fat though, and I didn’t cook them long enough so they were a bit too chewy. But the overall dish is divine! Thanks for posting it – this is one to add to the roster (using ready made pasta, of course!).

By: Ele

Ele — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:22:14 +0000

Margaux, thanks. You should try it. I don’t have a pasta machine so I never really considered it before this, but it was really easy.

By: margaux

margaux — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:41:49 +0000

Bravo! I’ve never made pasta before, and have definitely been initmidated. Maybe I’ll finally get around to giving it a go!

By: Ele

Ele — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:06:29 +0000

Dana, thanks! I can’t imagine that anything could intimidate you ;)

Rose, thanks so much. I love orecchiette, too. Ever since I first tried it, it’s been one of my favourite pasta shapes. This was my first foray into pasta-making but I’m definitely going back for more. Ravioli is next on my list!

By: rose

rose — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:59:25 +0000

WAY TO GO!! That looks awesome! I love orecchiette!!! I have made lasagna and ravioli, but never orecchiette! Thanks for the inspiration. It’s almost impossible to follow any pasta recipe exactly as I’ve found that each time I make pasta, there are so many other factors that affect how much flour I need, how many eggs, etc…

Beautifully done.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:24:31 +0000

As you know, taste is the most important thing, not looks! Bravo to you for taking on this task! I am totally intimidated by making my own pasta.