Puglia · Bari
Orecchiette con le cime di rapa
Orecchiette with turnip tops
Ear-shaped pasta cooked together with bitter turnip greens and dressed with garlic, chilli and olive oil — with anchovy if you like, and never cheese.
Documented tradition✓Sources checked · October 2026
- Course
- Primo piattoPasta & rice
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
La provenienza
Where this recipe comes from
In the old town of Bari, women still make orecchiette by hand on tables in the street. The pasta and the cime di rapa cook in the same pot, so the greens flavour the pasta and the pasta catches every bit of the dressing.
There is no official recipe. Apulian sources agree on the essentials: garlic, chilli and olive oil, often with anchovies melted in, and toasted breadcrumbs on top instead of cheese.
- Provenance
- Documented traditionA regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.
- Defined by
- Apulian tradition
- Reference
- Bari and the Murgia
Ingredienti
Ingredients
servings
Preparazione
Method
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Errori comuni
Common mistakes
- Adding grated cheese: the traditional dish has none — toasted breadcrumbs play that role.
- Cooking the greens separately: they go in the same pot as the pasta.
Fuori dall'Italia
Cooking it outside Italy
- Broccoli rabe (rapini) sold in the US and UK is the same plant family and works well.
