Weekly Recipe: Spinach Orecchiette By Ken and Verveine Oringer

Everyone knows the best food is cooked with love, and some of our best cooking memories come from getting in the kitchen with our family.

Boston-based, James Beard Award-winning chef Ken Oringer knows this is true, and his daughter Verveine loves to get in the kitchen and learn alongside her pops.

See also: Weekly Recipe: Caponata By Katie Parla

Now, the daughter-daddy duo wants to encourage you and your family to get in the kitchen and have some fun by sharing their favorite recipes in the new book Cooking with My Dad, the Chef. To get you started, the Oringers have shared their recipe for orecchiette below.

“Orecchiette is my favorite pasta shape. Each one looks like a beautiful smushed ball (or a “little ear,” the Italian translation of the name!). This version is a vibrant shade of green, but it doesn’t taste green, I promise. When you pull the pasta out of the water, it looks like the Lochness Monster. This spinach orecchiette is great with butter and Parmesan cheese, but you can also serve it with any of the sauces in this chapter.”

This recipe takes about an hour and a half of prep time, plus 30 minutes of dough resting to create. It serves four, which means enough for your whole family or enough for seconds later. Get ready to get your hands dirty, and have fun!

Spinach Orecchiette

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (2 ounces) baby spinach
• 2 large eggs
• 1⁄4 cup (2 ounces) milk
• 2 cups (10 ounces) Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Multipurpose Flour, plus extra for shaping
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 quarts water
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

Equipment:

• Blender
• Dish towel
• Large bowl
• Fork
• Plastic wrap
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Bench scraper or butter knife
• Ruler
• Large pot
• Wooden spoon
• Large serving bowl
• Spider skimmer or colander

Directions:

Orecchiette

1. Add spinach, eggs, and milk to blender jar. Place the lid on top of the blender and hold the lid firmly in place with a folded dish towel. Turn on the blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Stop the blender.
2. In a large bowl, add flour and sprinkle with 1⁄4 teaspoon salt. Use your hands to make a well in the center of the flour. Pour spinach mixture into well in bowl. Use a fork to slowly stir to bring flour and spinach mixture together until dough starts to form.
3. Sprinkle a clean counter with extra flour and transfer dough to the counter. Use your hands to knead dough until smooth, about 1 minute, adding a little extra flour if dough feels too sticky. Form dough into a smooth ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and let rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle lightly with extra flour. Cut, roll and shape the orecchiette following the steps below. (Orecchiette can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.)

Shape The Orecchiette

1. Lightly sprinkle extra flour on the counter and sprinkle dough with flour. Use a bench scraper to divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
2. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keeping remaining dough covered in plastic), roll dough into 1⁄2-inch thick rope, about 16 inches long.
3. Dip the bench scraper in extra flour. Cut dough crosswise (the short way) into 1⁄4-inch pieces.
4. Dust your fingers with extra flour. Turn each piece cut-side up and press your thumb into the dough to make it look like an ear. Use a bench scraper to carefully transfer the orecchiette to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet dusted with flour. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping with the remaining 5 pieces of dough.

To Cook

1. To finish, add water to a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully add 2 tablespoons of salt and then orecchiette to the pot. Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until pasta is al dente (tender but still a bit chewy), 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat.
2. Add butter to a large serving bowl. Use spider skimmer to transfer pasta to serving bowl (if you don’t have a spider skimmer, ask an adult to drain the pasta in a colander in the sink).
3. Use a wooden spoon to toss until butter melts. Add Parmesan and stir gently until pasta is well coated with butter and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Follow Ken Oringer on Instagram, try his restaurants in Boston, and buy a copy of Cooking with My Dad, the Chef for more delicious dishes and inspiration.