How to Shape Fresh Orecchiette Pasta
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox1/7Grab Some Dough
Start by pulling a walnut-sized piece from your ball of food-processor pasta dough. Rewrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox2/7Start Rolling
On a wooden cutting board or surface, use the palms of your hands to roll out the walnut-sized piece of dough to a 1/2-inch-wide rope.
If your dough is sticking to the surface and you're having trouble rolling it out, sprinkle the surface with a little semolina flour. If you find you're having the opposite problem—that the dough is too dry to roll—dampen your hands with a little water.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox3/7Then Cut
Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the pasta rope into 1/2-inch pieces.
4/7Press
Next, use your thumb to press down each piece of dough against the work surface, slightly pushing and twisting away from you to form an indented round of dough. (If the dough starts to stick, just dust the work surface with semolina).
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox5/7And Push
Put the disc (with the indented side down) on the tip of your thumb and use your other hand to gently pull the sides down around the tip of your thumb to deepen the indentation.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox6/7Finish Shaping
Turn the pasta cup inside-out around the index finger of your opposite hand. Then use the fingers of your other hand to deepen the cup once again.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Mindy Fox7/7Ta-dah!
Move your orecchiette to a sheet pan or plate that's been dusted with semolina flour to prevent sticking. Once you've shaped all of your dough, cook the orecchiette in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, 5-6 minutes. Drain it, toss with plenty of sauce, and enjoy!
You can also freeze the orecchiette to cook up later. Just stick the sheet pan or plate in the freezer until the pasta is frozen solid, then transfer the pasta to an airtight container. They'll keep well for about 2 weeks. To cook, just toss them frozen into the boiling, salted water and add an extra minute or two to the cooking time.
Read more: How to Make Fresh Homemade Pasta
