Orecchiette with urnip tops with extra virgin oil: how to prepare them

Just say orecchiette with turnip tops and the mind immediately goes to the traditional Apulian

here’s how to revisit them with taste… and with extra virgin olive oil!

Just say orecchiette with turnip tops and your mind immediately goes to the traditional Apulian pasta with its characteristic shape, enriched by this equally typical leafy vegetable. A classic dish, known in the Bari area as far back as the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 13th centuries! We are therefore talking about a pasta dish that has literally made history and has come down to us with all its flavour.

We at Frantoio Muraglia have decided to revisit the recipe for orecchiette pasta with turnip tops with extra virgin olive oil: all the flavour of our evo oil, to prepare many different variants of this classic of the table!

Turnip tops: here are the things you need to know

Before we start talking about recipes, however, you need to get to know the vegetable that will accompany your orecchiette. For example, do you know the difference between turnip tops and friarielli?

Friarielli also known as broccoletti are the flowers of the turnip top: that is, those commonly found in the market with their florets, ready to be cooked. Turnip greens are precisely the leafy plants from which friarielli grow. Of turnip greens, therefore, one consumes the florets and the smaller, more tender leaves, with their thin stalks which should be detached from the harder stem and washed under plenty of running water.

Another important thing to know: what do turnip greens taste like? Tasty and pleasant, with a bitter aftertaste, which makes them suitable either as an accompaniment to pasta or as a side dish for a meat course. This bitter taste increases as the flowers turn yellow. It is therefore essential to choose turnip greens at the right time, when the inflorescences are still green. Turnip tops are also rich in vitamin C, folic acid, iron and antioxidants: the perfect vegetable for tasty yet healthy dishes!

How to make orecchiette pasta with turnip tops?

It takes very little to cook orecchiette with turnip tops with evo oil. First, think about the pasta. If you want to prepare it by hand, you will only need three ingredients: remilled durum wheat semolina, salt and lukewarm water.

Make a well with the flour, add salt and mix; gradually add lukewarm water and knead until the dough is smooth. Let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature, covered with a cloth. Then take a piece of dough, create a strand and cut it into small pieces of about one centimetre which you will shape into your orecchiette.

Now deal with the vegetables. After you have cleaned your turnip tops and washed them under water, put them in a pot of salted water and let them boil for about ten minutes: at this point you can add the orecchiette pasta and finish cooking (about five minutes will be enough). The water in which you boiled the turnip tops will in fact be perfect for enriching the flavour of the pasta as well.

How to season orecchiette pasta with turnip tops?

The time has come to season your orecchiette pasta with homemade turnip greens!Drain the pasta and turnip tops and put them for a few minutes in a frying pan with garlic and evo oil (if you like, you can also add some anchovy fillets), season with a little grated pecorino or parmesan cheese and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

If you love strong flavours, the Coratina olive is perfect: it gives our Intense Fruity Oil all its fragrances, such as notes of thistle and artichoke leaves. This fruity oil is ideal for being enveloped in slightly spicy tones and goes perfectly with the flavour of turnip greens.

Those not used to over-structured oils may choose to dress orecchiette pasta with turnip greens with our Pitted oil. The result is an oil that does not distort the flavours of the ingredients it is combined with and brings the taste of Coratina to the table, but with a more delicate nuance.

And for those who want a balanced taste? Our Medium Fruity oil is the ideal choice: elegant and discreet, it adds its scents of radish, tomato and rocket to every dish. A drizzle of this extra virgin is enough to delicately enhance the taste of your homemade orecchiette. Even a drizzle of Aromatic Lemon Oil will add freshness to this traditional dish, enhancing its flavour.

How to season homemade orecchiette in an original way

Those who love exotic flavours, on the other hand, can satisfy their ethnic craving by adding our Ginger Aromatic Ginger Oil to orecchiette pasta with turnip greens: all the flavour of tradition combined with a fresh, spicy aftertaste.

Speaking of spicy we can’t forget our Chilli Pepper Aromatic Oil and our Garlic and Chilli Pepper Aromatic Oil: dressing orecchiette pasta with turnip greens with a chilli pepper extra virgin oil will give this dish a strong flavour, much appreciated by those who love spicy food.

Of course, there are plenty of ideas for dressing orecchiette pasta with turnip greens with olive oil: with bacon, sausage, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, cheese… this traditional dish is also loved for its versatility. So, let your imagination run wild: with the quality of Frantoio Muraglia’s signature oils, creating a masterpiece in the kitchen is easy!