A Simple Pasta dish...one that can be cooked and assembled in no time, with a tremendous
amount of flavor.  You will think that I took much longer to cook with all that aroma and taste coming
off your plate.  It is a standard of Southern Italian and Italian-American cooking, a pasta mixed with
a green vegetable along with only a few other aromatics.  In the regions of Italy deep in the South
such as Basilicata and Puglia, the flour and water pasta known as Orecchiette ( little ears) tossed
with a local green, usually broccoli di rape, (cima di rape) or some other bitter green, or mild
green.  Wholesome and healthy, and very delicious especially with the addition of good olive oil,
the regional hot chile, a touch of anchovy for extra seasoning and lots of locally produced Pecorino.
     I've blogged before about where my maternal Grandfather comes from, Grassano in Basilicata
which neighbors Puglia.  It is also cavatelli and orecchiette country..flour and water blended with
strong hands (usually female) to produce a dense and chewy pasta.  A sort of cousin to the gnocchi
family.  At a vacation a few years ago I had the ulitmate pleasure of meeting some of my Grandfather's
relatives who still live in Grassano, and also in Matera.  It was the middle of August and driving
through the countryside you could just taste the diavolicchio (red hot chile peppers, dried and used
in so much of the region's cooking...guess that's where I get it from!), the earthy greens, the pasta,
the salty cheeses. It is an arid and dry mountainous land.  Far from most of the tour packages which
dot the rest of Italy's boot.  From all aspects an area worth visiting, and in my case, part of that trip
of a lifetime dream since I has able to see where my Grandfather was born, raised, and lived until he
left for America in 1915 in his twenties.Here
I am with my cousin Filippo Paone on the roof of his parent's home in Grassano with the
countryside in the background.
With more of the my cousins, enjoying a nice amaro (bitter) espresso. What a great  day that
was!  It started out at Filippo's house where his family cooked a lunch of epic proportions!  All
local dishes...just an amazing day.  From this area comes this tradition of orcchiette with a
green, satisfying and delicious.
Cook 1 lb of orecchiette till al dente.  In another wide pan, add 2 tbs. of extra virgin olive oil
*the more olive flavor the richer this dish will taste*.  Heat and add 1 anchovy filet, and 2
sliced cloves of garlic, sprinkle with a little kosher salt.  Mash the filet and you will watch it
melt into the oil.
  Add a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes and let
this sizzle for no more than 1 minute...toss in 2 cups of washed and dried baby spinach leaves toss
well and let this cook for about 3 minutes. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Then add the pasta, additional tbs. of extra virgin and heat through.
  Lemon just wakes up every flavor in a
dish.  Add a good 1/8 cup of grated pecorino romano..and serve.  Top with additional hot pepper if you
like.  I like.  I add.
  For
strict vegetarians, omit the anchovy, add extra garlic and lemon.  For ravenous carnivores,
add 1 cup of cooked crumbled sweet fennel sausage meat.  Other variations of this dish
are the sausage and broccoli rabe version, almost the national dish of Puglia, or you can
use swiss chard, or escarole.  Try the first version, you'll fall in love with the ease and
seemingly quick prep of it with a pop of flavors.