"Spring" Orecchiette with Buratta

I found this recipe on a blog called Feasting at Home - the photos on the blog are lovely and this just looked so very, very fresh and pretty. Plus of course at the time of cooking and eating it was Spring so was a great time for lovely spring vegetables and herbs.

As it turned out I was ill and curled up feeling sorry for myself on the sofa so the bf was chef for the night - as such I have more or less written the recipe here (apart from the conversion of US to metric measures and also scaling down the amounts) as I’m not really sure what adaptations, if any, he made.

A couple of points that I will make however is that in my experience orecchiette pasta always need slightly longer cooking than the package will state (it is way too chewy otherwise in my opinion) and also that it is wise to assemble your ingredients in such a way that it allows you to cook this quickly as it seemed to cool down extremely quickly otherwise.

Burrata, that gorgeously creamy adulterated mozzarella is great here but I know that it isn’t the easiest of cheeses to get your hands on so sub with normal mozzarella if necessary.


Spring Orecchiette Pasta with Burrata
serves 2

200g 16 oz Orecchiette pasta
125g peas
100g sugar snap peas
125g asparagus tips
1 onion, finely chopped
100g mushrooms, sliced
1½ tsp olive oil
sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
1 egg
25g Parmesan, freshly grated
½ ball burrata cheese
lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh mint, chiffonaded

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the orecchiette according to the package instructions (see note above).

In a large frying or sauté pan heat half the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion until softened but not coloured. Add the mushrooms, turning the heat down a little and sautéing until golden and softened. Set aside.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and set that aside also.

When the pasta is nearly cooked, reserve some of the cooking water and set to one side then add the peas, sugar snaps and asparagus tips to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain the pasta and vegetables and remove them to the pot with the heat off.

With a fork, stir in 1½ tablespoons of hot pasta water, half a tablespoon at a time, gradually, to the eggs, to temper them. Stir well.

Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and with a wooden spoon, gently stir to coat the pasta. Stir in about 15g of Parmesan, some black pepper and a pinch of salt. You may also need a little more pasta water to loosen.

Divide between 2 plates or bowls and scatter each with the mint, lemon zest and remaining Parmesan. Finish each plate with a dollop each of burrata and serve.