Orecchiette with turnip tops (cime di rapa)

Orecchiette with turnip tops are the signature dish of Bari, made in autumn and winter, when the greens are in season. The pasta cooks in the same water as the greens, so it takes on their flavour. No cheese: if you like, top it with toasted breadcrumbs.

Ingredients for 4

• 400 g orecchiette
• 1 kg turnip tops (cime di rapa)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 anchovy fillets in oil
• 1 chilli
• 5 tablespoons IL CONTE Blend, plus a drizzle of IL CONTE Raggia single variety to finish
• 40 g breadcrumbs (optional)
• Salt

Method

1. Trim the turnip tops: keep the florets, the tender leaves and the thinner stalks, discard the tough ones. Wash them well.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the greens and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the orecchiette and cook together for the time on the pasta packet.
3. Meanwhile, in a wide pan, gently warm the Blend with the sliced garlic, the anchovies and the chilli, until the anchovies melt.
4. If using breadcrumbs, toast them separately in a small pan with a little oil until golden.
5. Drain the pasta and greens, keeping some cooking water, and toss them in the pan for a couple of minutes, adding water if needed.
6. Serve at once with a drizzle of raw Raggia and, if you like, the toasted breadcrumbs.

The right oil

Here the oil is the sauce: the Blend in the pan with garlic and anchovies, and a drizzle of Raggia single variety at the end, whose bitterness goes with that of the greens.

Photo: Romainbehar, Wikimedia Commons, public domain (CC0).