Baked orecchiette with lamb alla Materana

Method6 steps · about 55 min

1. 1

   Step 1: If using leg or shoulder meat, remove from the bone and dice into small pieces. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them by blanching in boiling water and then chop finely. Drain and slice the mozzarella.

   Uses 10.5 oz (300 g) lamb, ground or diced · 1 lb (450 g) tomato passata · 10.5 oz (300 g) mozzarella

2. 2

   Step 2: Brown the lamb in olive oil (2–3 tbsp) in a large skillet. Once the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

   Simmer lamb sauce · 15 minUses Raw lamb and prepared tomato supply introduced in step 1 · 2–3 tbsp olive oil for browning lamb · Season sauce to taste · Season sauce to taste

3. 3

   Step 3: Whilst the sauce is simmering put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it boils and bring to a boil again. Cook the orecchiette (400 g) slightly less than al dente. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven. Fresh pasta cooks a lot faster than dried pasta.

   Cook orecchiette · 10 minUses 400 g orecchiette, fresh or dried · Unmeasured salt for pasta water · Unmeasured pot of water; reserve a little cooking water

4. 4

   Step 4: Before draining the par-cooked pasta, reserve a little of its cooking water. Drain and mix the pasta into the prepared lamb-tomato sauce. If the mixture seems dry, loosen it with a little reserved cooking water.

   Uses Prepared sauce from step 2 · Pasta cooked short of al dente in step 3 · A little cooking water reserved; quantity unstated

5. 5

   Step 5: Make a layer of orecchiette and lamb sauce in the bottom of an oven dish. Place pieces of mozzarella on top of the pasta and sprinkle generously with pecorino. Make a second layer of pasta and lamb sauce and repeat the layer of cheese. Depending on the size of your oven dish, you can make 2 or 3 layers.

   Uses Prepared mixture from step 4 · All mozzarella drained and sliced in step 1, divided between the 2–3 layers · 3.5 oz total Pecorino divided across two or three layers; per-layer amount unknown

6. 6

   Step 6: Finally bake the orecchiette with lamb in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°f) for about 20 minutes or until the top starts to crisp and brown. Allow to rest for 5 minutes then serve.

   Bake orecchiette · 20 minUses Fully layered dish from step 5