Comments on: Baked Orecchiette

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:31:28 +0000

I made this a couple of nights ago and it was such a success we polished off the lot. The flavours really did taste like sausage. I used French beans instead of greens, and forgot to crush the fennel seeds, but it tasted great. Will definitely make this again, thanks Tim.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:53:28 +0000

This look so good I may play with it when I make it. I do want to maybe use some turkey or chicken sausage, fresh spinach, not sure if I can find the exact pasta at my grocery store but will try.

By: tinarina

tinarina — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:07:49 +0000

I made this a few nights ago with rigatoni (what I had on hand) and thought it was fantastic. The fennel (which I love) gave the suggestion of sausage without the sausage.

Because the rigatoni is so much larger I used less of it (like 3/4 lb) which worked out really well. Thanks Tim!

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:51:35 +0000

Hi Lynne,
It is possible that you ground the seeds too much? When I make it I just sort of lightly crush the seeds, but they remain whole–not ground up at all. HMmmmmm. It is a mystery!

By: Lynne

Lynne — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:04:05 +0000

PS. I have another batch of your Apple Jellies simmering on the stove and those I know are winners :)

By: Lynne

Lynne — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:03:17 +0000

Sorry Tim–I didn’t mean to be grouchy :( I just can’t figure out what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter, including making fresh ricotta (also your recipe which I love & have been using for a while!) but it just turned out so unappetizing. It looked just like the picture but no one ate it and to me it was overwhelmingly fennel-y. Is some fennel seed more potent than others maybe? The seeds I used were relatively fresh and I just gave them a quick zing in my spice grinder to smash them lightly. I wish I knew how I managed to bork this recipe–it looked great! :(

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:44:44 +0000

Hi Lynne, I am sorry you didn’t like this recipe. I have made this multiple times and love it—I guess
our tastes just differ on this one. Better luck next time!

By: Lynne

Lynne — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:22:13 +0000

I made this for a potluck and ended up embarrassed as it sat untouched on people’s plates. I think the fennel seed was about 50% too much. I used the tablespoon the recipe called for and the taste was so strong as to be gag-inducing. Next time I think I would just skip the spices and use italian sausage. This was probably the worst dish I’ve made in recent memory :(

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:49:59 +0000

Oh very nice indeed….

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:52:10 +0000

Hi Momcat: Mushrooms would be a nice addition, good idea.

Kasey: That would be amazing. I want to try making orecchiette at home.

By: Kasey

Kasey — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:41:23 +0000

A few weeks ago, I made homemade orecchiette. I’ve still got a ball of dough frozen in my fridge and this might be the perfect opportunity to pull it out!

By: Momcatusa

Momcatusa — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:41:06 +0000

Wow, this looks really good. I’ll bet if you added about 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms of your choice to the saute of the garlic, greens etc., it would be even better! (I love dishes like this with cheeses and greens and mushrooms, in any combination!) Thanks for sharing!

By: stacey

stacey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:37:23 +0000

What a beautiful site…I found yours through pioneerwoman.com

Love this recipe too. I’m sure this is something even my picky 11 year old would love.

By: Calypso

Calypso — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:56:07 +0000

Something about this winter has really motivated me to do all sorts of baked pasta or strata dishes. This one looks yummy! Thanks!

By: lisa (dandysugar)

lisa (dandysugar) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:09:40 +0000

Mmm. This looks so warm and comforting. I made a pasta dish with fennel very recently too. It really does add great flavor to pasta. Yum, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:00:30 +0000

Welcome Caroline! Your site is pretty too and that carrot cake looks ridiculously good. I’ll be making it soon.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:55:57 +0000

So excited to visit… heard about you through Steph W.
Your site is purty…..

By: The Duo Dishes

The Duo Dishes — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:30:16 +0000

Meat flavors without the meat. Great idea.

By: Y

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:36:47 +0000

Great idea, using the sausage seasonings. This dish looks lovely. If only it wasn’t so warm here, because I suddenly have a craving for baked pasta :)

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:29:55 +0000

I’m a vegetarian personal chef and I don’t make a lot of pasta for my clients because so much of it requires last minute cooking. This looks like a great and hearty dish that they would enjoy putting in the oven. Thanks for sharing!