Orecchiette Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Ricotta Cheese

A disk shaped pasta native to the Puglia, Italy's boot heel region, orecchiette comes from the Italian word, orecchio, meaning little ears. Pronounced oh-reck-ee-ET-tay, this type of pasta is perfect for vegetable sauces. It's a lovely sight to see the sauce cling to and nestle in the cavities of the orecchiette.

Because this dish has only a few simple ingredients, be sure to buy quality- Parmigiana Reggiano, a good extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and almost over-ripe cherry tomatoes. Buy fresh pine nuts for this dish as they are prone to rancid quite quickly. Adapted from "Italian Two Easy, Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe" by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. Serves 4.

Ingredients

12 ounces ripe cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ounces shaved Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh small basil leaves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
11 ounces orecchiette or a similar pasta, such as a small shell type pasta

How to Make

Bring six quarts of water to boil. Add salt.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and squeeze out the juice and seeds. Mince the garlic. Combine the tomatoes and garlic in a small bowl and marinate for 15 minutes. Place the ricotta in a bowl, season with salt and pepper.

When water has boiled, add orecchiette and cook until al dente. Drain. Gently heat the tomatoes, add the drained orecchiette, stirring to combine. Stir in the ricotta. Divide among four pasta dishes, garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese and the toasted pine nuts.

Buon appetito!