Orecchiette with Cannellini, Arugula and Ricotta Salata

Orecchiette con Cannellini, Rucola e Ricotta Salata

The toothy texture of freshly made orecchiette and cannellini beans make this a wonderful dish, but it is also delicious prepared in a flash with store-bought orecchiette and canned beans. Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta with the addition of salt that has been drained in slatted baskets for 12-15 days, giving the cheese a more compact texture and more flavor than fresh ricotta. It usually comes in forms that are approximately 1 pound. Shavings of pecorino primo sale, fresh sheep’s milk cheese, can be a good substitute. Look for either in specialty stores and Italian grocers.

Makes 6 servings

Orecchiette for 6 (Lidia’s Italian Table, p. 111), or 1 pound store bought pasta

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups cooked and drained dried cannellini beans or Braised Cannellini Beans, (p. 14), or 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup Chicken Stock (Lidia’s Italian Table, p. 80) or canned low-sodium chicken broth

2 bunches arugula, (stem ends discarded), shredded 1/2 inch, thoroughly washed and drained (about 4 cups, looselypacked)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup peeled, seeded and diced (1/4-inch) ripe plum tomatoes (see Note)

1 1/2 cups (about 4 1/2 ounces) grated ricotta salata, plus more for passing, if desired

Prepare the orecchiette.

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook the orecchiette according to directions on p. 88 of Lidia’s Italian Table.

Meanwhile, in a large (about 12-inch)skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add the beans and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the arugula, adjust the heat to simmering and simmer 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain the orecchiette. Return the orecchiette to the pot, place over medium-low heat and add the bean sauce. Stir, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking water if necessary, to make the sauce creamy. Check for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the tomato and grated cheese and serve.

Note: To make peeled seeded and chopped tomatoes, cut out the cores from 3 or 4 ripe plum tomatoes. Cut an "X" in the end opposite the cores. Plunge the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water and leave them just until the skins are loosened, from 10 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the tomatoes. Remove the tomatoes and plunge them into a bowl of cold water just long enough to cool them. Slip off the skins and cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard seeds. Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch dice.