Orecchiette with Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella
This is quite simply put, a classic pasta dish. Orecchiette pairs so wonderfully with this sauce, which involves cooking down whole - yet small - tomatoes until they break into a sauce. The term pomodori scoppiati can be used here to describe what happens to the tomatoes. If you’re interested in learning a little bit of Italian, scoppiati comes from the verb scoppiare - to burst.
This is such a low maintenance sauce, it’s perfect for a Sunday. Better yet, it’s perfect when you’re making fresh pasta so you can concentrate on the task of doing so, instead of managing something else. I’ve paired it with freshly made orecchiette here because those little ears are one of the most perfect pastas for sauce catching, but of course you can pair practically any pasta with this and it’ll be just as good.
Orecchiette with Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Serves 4
Ingredients
Pasta dough
400g semolina flour (semola di grano duro/semola rimacinata)
200ml warm water
Sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed but keep the cloves whole
A couple of handfuls of fresh basil, leaves removed from stems
1kg mixed fresh whole tomatoes, preferably small and a similar size to the orecchiette
1 tsp sugar (if needed)
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella
Method
Pasta dough
On a work surface, add the semolina flour and create a well in the centre. Slowly drizzle in the warm water and whisk until you have a custard-like consistency.
Switch to a bench scraper and start to flip the flour from the outer edge over and onto the water mix, using a cutting motion to then mix it in. Continue to do this around all sides until you have a crumbly, sand-like mix.
Start bringing the crumbly dough together with your hands, squeezing and coaxing it in a ball of dough that’s knead-able - scraping up and incorporating as much loose flour from your work surface as possible.
Once you have this shape, begin kneading the dough vigorously for a good 10 minutes until the dough is springy and elastic, and not sticking to your hands at all.
Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Shaping the orecchiette
Cut an 1/8 off from the dough (keeping the rest covered while you’re not working with it), and roll the piece into a rope about 1-2cm thick.
Place the rope vertically in front of you, then using a knife, cut a thumbnail sized piece from the side closest to you. In one motion, keeping the knife at roughly a 30 degree angle to the work surface, drag the small piece towards you until it curves in on itself, making sure to lift pressure right at the very end (this will help retain a ridge around the outside of the orecchiette).
NB: You’ll want to use enough pressure to create that signature dragged texture on the orecchiette - but not too much pressure that you tear the dough. Like most shapes, it takes a little trial and error for you to find the right balance.
Take the piece of rolled dough and fold it back over your thumb to create the orecchiette shape.
Continue until you’ve used all the dough, placing the orecchiette on a tray dusted with fine semolina, or a clean tea towel.
Sauce
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic cloves. Make sure not to burn the garlic, but let it gently cook in the oil and impart some flavour. Remove the garlic - or keep it in if you like.
Add a handful of basil leaves directly to the oil and let them sizzle for a moment before adding the fresh whole tomatoes.
Cover the pan and turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let the tomatoes cook down - stirring every so often - until they’ve burst and you have a sauce, with some tomatoes still intact for texture - about 30 min. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. If the tomatoes are tart, add the sugar.
Cook the orecchiette in generously salted water until al dente - a few minutes from fresh. If you’ve let your orecchiette dry then they will take a bit longer - test as you go.
Add directly to the tomato sauce and toss/swirl to marry the pasta with the sauce.
I like to serve this family style - adorned with torn mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of fresh basil.
