Who comes to Puglia must eat the orecchiette with turnip tops, in Winter when it’s possible to find them in plenty everywhere. It’s easy to find peddlers who sell fresh turnip tops just picked from the field! The orecchiette with turnip tops compete for primacy with the fava beans puree within the pugliese cooking. I am going to introduce you my personal orecchiette with turnip tops recipe, from the South of the Puglia, where I live.

Ingredients

500 gr. of orecchiette / 400-500 gr. of turnip tops / a tablespoon of capperi / a clove of garlic / a chili pepper / five threads of anchovy / extra virgin olive oil and salt.

Directions

First of all, clean and wash the turnip tops, then stew them and remove from the pot. Take them apart and conserve the cooking water. Then cook the orecchiette into the same water. In the meantime, prepare the sautéed into a pan: warm up the oil and avoid that it emits smoke. So, add garlic, chili pepper, capperi and the threads of anchovy. When you think that you reached a good cooking time, add the turnip tops and the orecchiette (that you have strained from the pot) and pan-fry. If you think that they could be a bit dry, add some cooking water. Serve into a dish and eat. Is it easy, isn’t it? And even so tasty …