These are not your classic orecchiette. They are tossed with kimchi, butter and gochujang, then finished with smoked ricotta and a savoury granola made with toasted breadcrumbs and almonds.
The result is spicy, creamy, salty and crunchy (and very quick to make).
If you try any variations, tell me about them in the comments. I’m curious!
Method
1
Boil the water
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and season it lightly with salt.
2
Make the crunchy granola
Roughly chop the almonds. The pieces should not be too small: you want to feel their crunch when you eat them. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan with the garlic clove. Add the almonds and toast them for about one minute.
Add the breadcrumbs and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until everything is golden and crunchy. Remove the garlic, transfer the granola to a bowl and set it aside. Do not leave it in the hot pan, as it may continue cooking and burn.
Only add the granola at the very end, directly onto the plated pasta. Otherwise, it will absorb moisture from the sauce and lose its crunch.
3
Prepare the kimchi
Finely chop the kimchi, making sure there are no large pieces. It should not become a paste, but the pieces should be small enough to spread evenly throughout the orecchiette.
4
Cook the orecchiette
Add the orecchiette to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions on the packet. Drain them about one minute before the end of the recommended cooking time, reserving at least half a glass of pasta water.
5
Toss the pasta
Place the butter, gochujang and chopped kimchi in a wok or large frying pan while it is still off the heat.
Add the drained orecchiette and about two tablespoons of pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-high and toss everything vigorously for about one minute, stirring or tossing continuously. Add a little more pasta water only if necessary. The pasta is ready when the butter, gochujang, kimchi and cooking water have formed a creamy, glossy sauce that coats the orecchiette.
Gochujang can be quite intense and is usually the ingredient that contributes most of the heat. Its strength varies by brand, and some kimchi can also be quite spicy, so adjust the quantity to your tolerance.
6
Serve
Divide the orecchiette between two plates. Grate a generous amount of smoked ricotta over the top and finish with the breadcrumb and almond granola. Add two or three basil leaves, if you like. Serve immediately, while the pasta is still creamy and the granola is perfectly crunchy.
Ingredients
For the orecchiette
· fresh orecchiette: 250–300 g
· kimchi: 150 g
· butter: 50 g
· gochujang: 1 teaspoon
· smoked ricotta: 40 g
· basil leaves: A few (optional)
· salt
For the savoury granola
· breadcrumbs: 20 g
· almonds: 15 g
· garlic: 1 clove
· extra virgin olive oil: 1 tablespoon
Special equipment
Wok or large pan
The story behind this dish
I came up with this recipe before leaving for Puglia. Bari was going to be one of the stops on our trip, and I knew I wanted to buy some fresh orecchiette without using them in a traditional recipe.
I had seen several pasta recipes combining kimchi, butter and gochujang, so I decided to create my own version.
Around that time, we had just visited Jack Ballarini in Verona, where we tried an off-menu fried chicken sandwich with kimchi and gochujang. I also still had a few jars of kimchi in the fridge from the guys at Kimchi Pop, so the idea came together quite naturally.
Orecchiette and kimchi might horrify a few people, but I promise they work much better together than you might expect.
