Winter greens orecchiette

Ripassati: re-pass or go over again

This is one of my favourite Italian cooking techniques, used for bitter brassicas such as cime di rapa, romanesco, and broccoli calabrese (the Italian name for the trusty trees so many of us put into our shopping baskets week in, week out).

The greens are cooked twice: firstly in salted water (in this case, the same water you then use for cooking the pasta), and secondly in a pool of olive oil. The quantity of olive oil is generous - intentionally so - and I like to give it the magic touch of garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes.

Cooked this way, the greens undergo a transformation that just one cooking method alone (blanching or frying) could not achieve. They relent. They go from hardy and squeaky to obliging and silky.

Winter greens orecchiette with pecorino & toasted nuts

You can use whatever variety of winter greens looks good at the shops. On this occasion, I used a mixture of leafy greens, including sprout tops, kale and cavolo nero; however, you could take this down the route of brassica flowers (broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli now that it’s come into season here in the UK, romanesco, or even cauliflower) rather than leaves. If so, I’d suggest using two heads (or in the case of purple sprouting broccoli, two large bunches), chopping them roughly before blanching, and adjusting timings accordingly - they’ll likely need to be blanched for a little longer to reach the point of tenderness.

I originally wrote this recipe for Honest Toil, a lovely small-scale producer of cold-pressed, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from Kyparissia. Using olive oil like this is a luxury, it makes whatever you’re cooking feel special. I’d encourage you to reach for one of your favourite bottles here; your pasta will feel all the more special for it.

Serves 4

500g winter greens (sprout tops, kale, cavolo nero), leaves separated
250ml olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fennel seeds
Pinch of chilli flakes
350g orecchiette
75g pecorino, finely grated or blitzed in a food processor to a fine crumb
100g toasted nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds), roughly chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and prepare a large bowl of iced water.

Blanch the winter greens for 2 minutes until bright green then lift out with tongs (keep the pot of boiling water for the pasta) and transfer to the bowl of iced water. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then drain thoroughly and finely chop.

Set a large, heavy-based pot over a medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, and chilli flakes. Fry gently for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add most of the chopped greens (hold back on a handful to add later on with the pasta - this gives variation in both texture and colour), stir to coat in the garlicky oil, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes as you cook the orecchiette until al dente.

Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pot of greens, along with any splashes of pasta water that piggy back with it. Add the reserved handful of blanched greens, a handful of pecorino, and a splash of pasta water, and toss.

Add another handful of pecorino, along with another splash of pasta water and toss again. Keep tossing and adding little splashes of pasta water until emulsified and glossy.

Add half the nuts, give it one final toss and taste for seasoning. Serve with the remaining pecorino and nuts sprinkled on top.

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