In short. Orecchiette in a simple onion-and-tomato sauce, finished with grated cacioricotta — the Apulian sheep’s cheese that behaves like ricotta and tastes like pecorino. The cheese is the dish.
Cacioricotta is made by a particular process in which both the rennet and the ricotta flakes rising to the surface are caught at the right moment. The result contains both casein, as cheese does, and albumin, as ricotta does — and it has a strong taste and a firm paste after only a few months of ageing.
Ingredients
- 400 g of orecchiette, or cavatelli
- 500 g of peeled tomatoes
- 1 onion
- fresh cacioricotta, to grate over
- basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, salt
Method
1. The sauce. Slice half an onion thinly and soften it in olive oil. Add the peeled tomatoes and a little salt, and let it cook down with the basil.
2. The pasta. Cook the orecchiette separately in plenty of salted water, drain when properly done, and dress with the sauce.
3. The cheese. Grate the cacioricotta generously over the top — this is not a garnish, it is the point of the dish.
Cacioricotta, in one line. Sheep’s milk, a short ageing, a strong flavour close to Roman pecorino, and a firm enough paste to grate. In Puglia it is used above all grated over pasta sauces.
More on the first courses page.
