Orecchiette Pasta and Homemade Sweet Ricotta Calzoni from Matera – European Capital of Culture 2019

Thanks to Riccardo Casarico Photo for this scenic view of Matera – Italy

For the tomato sauce: put the olive oil in a heavy pot and turn on the stove at medium heat. Add the finely sliced onions. Let it sauté for a few minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon, until soften. Add the tomato puree, ½ glass of water and salt. Cover with a lid and let simmer for approximately 15-20 min. All along the process, check if the sauce is too thick or if it is condensing on the bottom. In this case, add a bit of water and stir. If the sauce is a too acid, add a pinch of sugar. When the sauce is ready, add the basil leaves.

For the filling: if the ricotta is watery, put it in a sieve and leave it to drain. In a bowl put the drained ricotta, sugar, egg yolk, salt, lemon zest and grated nutmeg. Squeeze the lemon and with a spoon mix the ingredients all together until obtaining a smooth cream.

For the calzoni dough: on a wooden working surface pour the flours. Make a big hole in the middle of the flour and add the eggs (1 egg and 1 egg white) and salt. With a fork start mixing the eggs and the flour. Then knead using your hands and add about a ladle of water a little at a time. Continue to knead until the dough starts to be smooth and silky. If the dough is still crumbly, just wet your hands and continue kneading to obtain a soft dough. If the dough is too sticky, then add more flour.

Cut a piece of dough (work with small portions at a time and leave the rest covered with a damp clean tea towel). Flatten the dough out a bit and then roll it out with a pasta maker – machine until obtaining a thin sheet. Repeat this process until the dough is smooth. Then gradually decrease the setting until you achieve a thickness of about 1.5 mm. Dust your work surface with some flour and lay the sheet on the table.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of filling lengthwise on the rectangle of dough, about 3-5 cm apart on half the sheet of pasta. Repeat every 4 cm. Fold the unfilled half over the filling. With your fingers press the air out of each filling. Make sure to seal the edges of pasta firmly (lightly brush a little water around the filling, before folding the pasta). By using a round pastry cutter (4 cm diameter) cut out the calzoni.

With a toothpick make 2 holes on each calzone to press out all of the remaining air.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the salt and then pour the orecchiette into the water. Check the orecchiette package for the cooking time. Three or four minute before the orecchiette are ready, add the calzoni. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the calzoni rise to the surface and are al dente. Drain the pasta and pour it in a bowl. Season with a ladle of the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Pour into serving plates and add more tomato sauce. Serve topped with a handful of grated Parmesan.