Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa

Apulian peasant cuisine from the Bari province, formalized by the 12th century when broccoli rabe (cime di rapa, a cultivated turnip-top — botanically closer to turnips than to broccoli) grew on every fallow field and durum wheat was the regional staple. Orecchiette were rolled by women on doorsteps along Bari's Strada delle Orecchiette, where the practice continues today. Anchovy was Apulia's coastal salt — cheap protein for inland cooks.

Apulian peasant cuisine from Bari, formalized by the 12th century when broccoli rabe grew on every fallow field and durum wheat was the regional staple. Orecchiette are still rolled by women on doorsteps along Bari's Strada delle Orecchiette today. Cook the rabe and pasta in the same pot — drop rabe in 4 minutes before pasta finishes. Saving the cooking liquid separately is the giveaway of someone who didn't grow up in Bari.

Hand-shaped "little ears" of pasta cradling sautéed broccoli rabe — the bitter green stem-and-bud cooked until just past al dente. Garlic and anchovy fried in olive oil with a pinch of chili go on top; sometimes toasted breadcrumbs replace cheese. The pasta cup catches the cooking liquid; the bitterness is the whole point. If you reach for cheese, the dish wasn't seasoned right.

Cook the rabe and pasta in the same pot — drop rabe in 4 minutes before pasta finishes. The rabe's bitter water becomes the pasta water becomes the sauce; saving and discarding cooking liquid is the giveaway of someone who didn't grow up in Bari. Anchovies are pan-melted, never raw — raw they taste of fish, melted they taste of depth.