Orecchiette con Salsiccia e Cime di Rapa (Orecchiette With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe)

This is a rich, meaty variation on the classic Apulian pasta, made with pork sausage, bitter greens, olive oil, garlic, chiles, and al dente orecchiette.

Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in creamy tomato sauce

The cup shape of Orecchiette pasta is made for holding special pasta sauces. The creamy tomato sausage pasta sauce featured in this recipe is worthy!

Spinach Basil Pesto with Guanciale and Handmade Orecchiette

How to Make Spinach Basil Pesto with Guanciale and Handmade Orecchiette

Pasta With Mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts, and Parmesan

Orecchiete, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms come together to form the perfect plate of pasta.

Creamy Orecchiette With Spring Onions, Fennel, and Bacon

Borrowing a classic French sauce technique, this easy pasta dish balances cheesy, bacon-y richness with bright and light spring vegetables.

Orecchiette with Caramelized Turnips, Tuscan Kale, and Cracked Pepper from 'The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook'

This pasta dish from Tracey Medeiros's Vermont Farm Table Cookbook introduced a new element to my standard kale recipe mix: caramelized turnips. At first, I was turned off by the idea of pairing bitter greens with a bitter root vegetable, but then I remembered how turnips mellow and sweeten once cooked. Add in some serious maillard action to the turnips, and I realized this was a really clever way to make use of a New England staple crop.

Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa (Apulian Orecchiette With Broccoli Rabe)

Straight from the heel of Italy, this orecchiette features olive oil, garlic, chiles, anchovies, bitter greens, and toasted breadcrumbs.

Orecchiette With Broccoli and Toasted Hazelnuts

In this easy weeknight dinner, the classic pairing of orecchiette and broccoli gets a twist with a creamy turmeric sauce and crunchy toasted hazelnuts.

Vegetarian Citrus Pasta With Swiss Chard

A 20 minute one-skillet meal of pasta with swiss chard, lemon, sumac, and shallots.

Swiss Chard and Pasta Soup

This is pure comfort food, but it's also one with a surprising amount of depth.