It is one of the questions I get asked most often: should I use fresh or dried orecchiette? The honest answer is: it depends. Both are good -- but they are two different pastas, with different characteristics, suited to different uses.
Fresh Orecchiette
Fresh orecchiette are made with durum wheat semolina and water -- nothing else. They are worked by hand, one by one, dragging a small piece of dough across a wooden board with the thumb. The characteristic shape -- a small concave disc, like an ear -- comes only from this gesture.
Fresh orecchiette have a softer, more porous texture. They absorb the sauce differently -- holding it inside the cavity. They are perfect with lighter sauces and vegetables: turnip tops, fresh tomato, ricotta.
When to use them
With turnip tops, fresh tomato and basil, ricotta and lemon, seasonal sauteed vegetables. They cook in 5-8 minutes in boiling salted water.
Dried Orecchiette
Dried industrial orecchiette are made with the same dough -- semolina and water -- but are dried. They have a firmer, more resilient texture. They hold al dente better and stand up better to heavier, more structured sauces.
For recipes like orecchiette with braciole ragu -- where the sauce is rich, thick, long-cooked -- dried orecchiette work better. They do not break, they do not fall apart, they keep their bite even after a few minutes in the hot sauce.
When to use them
With braciole ragu, with meat, with rich structured sauces. They cook in 10-12 minutes. Look for a large format -- small orecchiette are less authentic.
My Advice
If you have time, make fresh orecchiette -- it is a meditative, almost therapeutic gesture, and the result is incomparable. If you do not have time, buy a good brand of dried Pugliese orecchiette -- avoid cheap industrial imitations.
In either case, cook them in plenty of salted water, drain al dente and dress generously. Orecchiette should never be dry -- they must stay moist with the sauce.
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