Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa (Puglian Orecchiette with Turnip Tops)

Name: Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa (Puglian Orecchiette with Turnip Tops)
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 350g orecchiette; 500g tenderstem broccoli, or cime di rapa if you can find it; 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 4 anchovy fillets in olive oil; 3 garlic cloves, sliced; 1 dried red chilli, crumbled; 1 lemon, zest only; 2 tsp salt, for the pasta water

Little pasta ears with bitter greens, anchovy, garlic and chilli. This is Puglia's signature dish, and it takes half an hour.

Time30 min
LevelEasy
Costabout £1.85 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

4 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

350 gorecchiette
500 gtenderstem broccolior cime di rapa if you can find it
4 tbspextra virgin olive oil
4anchovy fillets in olive oil
3garlic clovessliced
1dried red chillicrumbled
1lemonzest only
2 tspsaltfor the pasta water

Method

1
Trim the broccoli and cut the stalks into 2 cm pieces. Leave the tips whole.
2
Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Add the orecchiette and cook for about 11 minutes. Add the broccoli to the same pan for the last 5 minutes, so the greens go very soft.
11 min
3
Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the anchovies, garlic and chilli and stir for 3 minutes until the anchovies melt and the garlic is pale gold.
3 min
4
Scoop out a mug of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and greens. Tip them into the frying pan with 100 ml of the water.
5
Toss over a medium heat for 2 minutes, crushing some of the broccoli with your spoon so it turns into a rough sauce. Add the lemon zest and plenty of black pepper, then serve.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.