Winter greens orechiette with pecorino & toasted nuts
Here's the 3rd recipe from our library of #cookingwitholiveoil, this time by @florenceblair ❤️‍🔥

The greens are cooked twice here (the Italians call this technique ripassati, meaning re-pass or go over again): firstly in salted water (the same water you then use for cooking the pasta), and secondly in a pool of olive oil that has been given the magic touch of garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes. The quantity of olive oil is generous, intentionally so; it is the backbone of the recipe.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
500g winter greens (sprout tops, kale, cavolo nero), leaves separated
250ml Honest Toil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fennel seeds
Pinch of chilli flakes
350g orecchiette
75g pecorino, finely grated or blitzed in a food processor to a fine crumb 100g toasted nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds), roughly chopped

Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Blanch the winter greens for 2 minutes until bright green then lift out with tongs (keep the pot of boiling water for the pasta) and transfer to the bowl of iced water.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes then drain thoroughly and finely chop.
Set a large, heavy-based pot over a medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, and chilli flakes.
Fry gently for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add most of the chopped greens (hold back on a handful to add later on with the pasta - this gives variation in both texture and colour), stir to coat in the garlicky oil, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes as you cook the orecchiette until al dente.
Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pot of greens, along with any splashes of pasta water that piggy back with it. Add the reserved handful of blanched greens, a handful of pecorino, and a splash of pasta water, and toss.
Add another handful of pecorino, along with another splash of pasta water and toss again. Keep tossing and adding little splashes of pasta water until emulsified and glossy.
Add half the nuts, give it one final toss and taste for seasoning. Serve with the remaining pecorino and nuts sprinkled on top.