Pantry Basics Orecchiette

We discuss the utter absence of cooking with cactus in our lives (!) and a cookbook which I have loved by Nik Sharma called VEG-TABLE.To make the recipe, you need500g Orecchiette (thus named because the tiny scooped pieces look like a baby's ear 285g frozen peas11/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle4 cloves of garlic, grated1 tsp red pepper flakes, eg., Aleppo, Maras or Urfa.2-3tbs white miso paste (I use 3, Nik Sharma says 2)lots of grated Parmesan or Grana Padano (I use a cup+)snipped chives from the gardenBoil the pasta in generously salted rolling boiling water a minute or 2 less than the amount of time recommended on the packet. In the last 2 minutes, add the peas to the pot. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Dress the cooked pasta/peas with 1tbs of olive oil. Set aside and then:Warm 3 tbs good olive oil then add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Fry for less than 1 minute until releasing their aromas. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes.Dissolve the miso paste in 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Add this to the fried spices then add the peas and crush them a little so they're less intact and more prepared to integrate with the sauce.Use a big slotted spoon to fold the cooked pasta into the spice mixture, adding in about 1/4 cup of cheese. Feel free to add a bit more pasta water to make the final version brothy. Taste. It may need more salt. Serve with more cheese on top and some generous snips of chives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.