Positano, Campania
Orecchiette alla Positanese
Disclaimer: you will not be beach ready after this dish.
Makes
4
Level
Medium with a grown-up
Kids cook with a grown-up. Hot ovens, boiling water and frying are grown-up jobs, and sharp knives need a grown-up’s hands too.
Ingredients
Orecchiette: 1 pound
Sweet Italian sausage: 3 links (about 3/4 pound)
Garlic: 3 cloves, minced
Olive oil: 3 tablespoons
San Marzano tomatoes: one 28 oz can
Dried oregano: 1 teaspoon
Fresh basil: 1 big handful, plus leaves for the top
Burrata: 8 ounces, for blending into the sauce
Stracciatella or extra burrata: 4 ounces, for the top
Breadcrumbs: 1/2 cup, toasted in olive oil
Pickled cherry peppers: 4 small, for the top
Salt: for the pasta water and the sauce
Method
Take the casings off the sausage and chop the meat. Mince the garlic.
Brown the sausage in a wide pan with 1 tablespoon of oil until crumbly and cooked through to 160°F. Lift it out onto paper towels.
In the same pan, cook the garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and mash them with a potato masher.
Stir in the oregano and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Toast the breadcrumbs in a small pan with 1 tablespoon of oil until golden. Set aside.
Boil the orecchiette in salted water until just shy of al dente. Save a cup of pasta water.
Pour the sauce into a tall container with the 8 ounces of burrata and the basil. A grown-up blends it with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
Pour the sauce back into the pan, add the pasta and a splash of pasta water, and toss for 1 to 2 minutes.
Spoon into bowls. Top with the crispy sausage, stracciatella, torn basil, a cherry pepper and the breadcrumbs.
