Un Bouquet d'Orecchiette / Orecchiette Bouquet

Few weeks ago, Lili asked bloggers to come up with a recipe that will complement her beautiful homemade Orecchiette. She was nice enough to let us choose between making our own pasta and buying it from the store. I opted for the second option. Not that I am lazy, It just that I couldn’t wait to try this pasta that I have never had before.
After thinking and looking for some inspiration in the market and in my archives, I decided to make Orecchiette with Swiss chard, bok choy, a sweet and lemony leeks sauce and some fried calamari rings to serve. What I loved about this pasta is how delicate it is and how the leeks sauce was able to coat the pasta without spoiling its shape.
Now tell me, in order to honor Orecchiette, how would you dress this cute little pasta?


Orecchiette with greens, leeks sauce and fried calamari rings:

Recipe: Serves 6
- 1 Lb orecchiette pasta
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 medium leeks, white parts only sliced.
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp parsley leaves
- 8 large Swiss chard leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch of Bok Choy, leaves chopped
- 1 Lb squid, cleaned and cut in rings
- 1 tbsp diced ginger
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 garlic, diced
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
- Salt, pepper
- Oil for frying
- Roasted hazelnut oil.

Marinate the calamari rings with the limejuice, ginger, garlic, and cilantro, salt and pepper for 1 h. Toss the calamari in panko and fry until golden brown. Keep the calamari rings warm in a preheated 200F oven.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a pan. Add the leeks and cook until softened, about 10 min. Add the chicken stock, lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley and bring to boil. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Meanwhile cook the orecchiette pasta until it’s almost al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking water. Set the pasta aside.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan. Add the Swiss chard leaves, the bok choy leaves; cook over high heat until wilted. Add the pasta, leek sauce and the reserved pasta cooking water, stirring and tossing until it all gets blended, About 5 min. Season to taste. Serve immediately. Top the pasta with fried calamari and drizzle with some roasted hazelnut oil.




Orecchiette avec herbes, sauce au poireaux et anneaux de calamar frits.

In francais please: Pour 6 personnes
- 500g d’ orecchiettes
- 4 c.s d’huile d’olive
- 3 poireaux moyens, coupes en morceau
- 225ml de bouillon de poulet
- 1 c.s de jus de citron frais
- ½ c.c de zest de citron
- 1 c.s de feuilles de persil
- 8 larges feuilles de cardes, ciselees
- 1 bouquet de bok choy (chou chinois), cisele
- 500g de calamar, netoye et coupe en anneaux
- 1 c.s de gingembre, hache
- 1 c.s de jus de citron vert
- 1 gousse d’ail hache
- 1 c.s de coriandre hachee
- 250g de panko (chapelure japonaise)
- Sel, poivre
- Huile pour frire
- L’huile de noisette

Assaisoner les anneaux de calamar de sel et de poivre. Les faire mariner dans le jus de citron vert, le gingembre, l’ail et la coriandre pendant 1 h. Enduire les calamars sans les rincer de panko et faites frire jusqu'à ce qu’ils soient dores. Garder les calamar au chaud dans un four chauffe a 100C.
Entre temps, faites chauffer 2 c.s d’huile d’olive dans une poele. Ajouter les poireaux et cuire jusqu'à devenir fondant, environ 10 min. Couvrir de bouillon de volaille, jus de citron, zest de citron, feuilles de persil et porter a ebulitions. Transvaser le tout dans un mixer et mixer le tout pour obtenir une sauce lisse. Entre temps, faire cuire les pates jsuqu’a ce qu’elles soient presque al dente. Recuperer 50 ml de l’eau de cuisson pour plus tard. Egoutter les pates et mettre de cote.
Faites chauffer l’huile d’olive restant dans une poele. Ajouter les cardes, les feuilles de bok choy et faites cuire sur grand feu en remuant sans arret, environ 5 min. Ajouter les pates, la sauce de poireaux et l’eau de cuisson des pates et melanger doucement pour bien impregner les pates sans abimer leur forme. Assaisoner selon le gout. Servir tout de suite avec les anneaux de calamr au-dessus et un filet d’huile de noisettes.