orecchiette

/ ˌɒrəkɪˈɛtɪ /

plural noun

1. small ear-shaped pasta pieces

Word History and Origins

Origin of orecchiette¹

C21: from Italian, literally: little ears

Example Sentences

Ear-shaped orecchiette—Puglia’s best-known regional specialty—is often paired with broccoli rabe or a basic tomato sauce, while floppy strascinati goes with meat-rich, long-simmered sauces.

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The neighborhood has a winding lane devoted to pasta called Arco Basso, also known as Orecchiette Street.

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Orecchiette’s secret is that one side is rough and the other is smooth, says Amadei, and these opposing surfaces make it ideal for mixing with its specific range of sauces, which can cling to but not overwhelm the noodles.

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My Airbnb host told me about Pastificio Ancora, a small artisanal shop that sells fresh pasta, where I leapt at the chance to buy orecchiette made with a kind of burnt wheat, called grano arso—a Pugliese oddity rooted in poverty and now a sign of culinary refinement.

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I whipped up some orecchiette al pomodoro, using grano arso pasta the color of concrete, in my guest apartment in under 20 minutes.

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