This is the kind of authentic Italian recipes I love: few good quality ingredients and simplicity 🙂

It’s a typical recipe of Lucania, an area mostly part of Basilicata region, and the fact I managed to find also the Pecorino of Moliterno made it really authentic 🙂

But the main ingredient is the peperone crusco, a very particular ingredient: it’s a type of sweet pepper typical of that area, which is dried, and to make it crunchy (“crusco“) you have to fry it for very few seconds (5-10 seconds, no more, otherwise it burns and gets bitter) in oil. But in this case I found some sold already “cruschi”.

It can be eaten as a snack, or it can enrich a lot of recipes, simply crumbled or you can make a powder from it.

Then the pasta: usually homemade pasta is used, especially cavatelli or strascinati, typical pasta types made with durum. To see how to make it you can look for some tutorial, it’s easier than to explain it 🙂 but it’s not too difficult at all.

INGREDIENTS (2 people):

For the cavatelli:

• 180 g durum flour (I used 50% semola rimacinata di grano duro, and 50% sfarinato di grano duro Senatore Cappelli)
• 120 ml warm water (about, you’ll see)

For the sauce:

• 15-20 g of peperoni cruschi
• 2 slices of stale bread
• 1 clove of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• freshly grated Pecorino cheese (I used Pecorino di Moliterno)
• fresh basil

1. First of all prepare the dough: mix the flour with warm water, then work it on the table for about 10-15 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Then cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile cut the stale bread into small pieces, then take a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and toast them until crunchy and brown. Keep aside for later.
3. Now start boiling the water in a pot, and then make the cavatelli. Cut the dough in 3-4 pieces, roll them to obtain a roll of about 1 cm diameter, then cut in pieces large about 2 fingers. Then with two fingers (or the blade of a knife) squeeze them while rolling. It’s easier to see than to explain 🙂 place them on a tray, with some flour.
4. When the salted water starts boiling, pour the cavatelli inside, it will take 7-8 minutes to be ready since they are made with durum.
5. Meanwhile take a pan, heat a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil with the garlic, then remove it when it gets a color. When the cavatelli are cooked drain them and pour in the pan. Add the breadcrumbs, the peperoni cruschi crumbled into pieces, the basil and mix together. Add some little boiling water if needed. Then switch off the heat and add the freshly grated Pecorino cheese.
6. Serve it, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy 🙂

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Products used:

Flour: organic stone ground “sfarinato di grano duro Senatore Cappelli” from Mulino Marino