Sunday Pasta™: Orecchiette (Sophia) con Salciccia (Sophia) e Piselli (Sophia) (Sausage and Peas)

Ok. Ok. This post has absolutely nothing to do with Sophia Loren, but last week’s recipe from her cookbook got so much attention that I figured I’d milk it as much as possible. This week’s recipe is actually adapted from my cousin Frankie DiGiacomo. Although his name doesn’t carry the punch of Sophia’s, like any self-respecting Italian man, he certainly can cook. (This is a basic survival skill used in the unlikely event that we find ourselves alone or surrounded by Non-Italians.)

Frankie practices his craft everyday at his restaurant Frank Anthony’s (in Verona, NJ) where he truly lives up to the adage: Felice l’uomo che fa la mozzarella al mattino, which roughly translates into “Happy is the man who pulls mozzarella in the morning.” (We all make choices in life folks, and most mornings I wish I had chosen mozzarella… But alas, I am a writer.)

As far as this recipe goes, he calls it Orecchiette Ciccone, in honor of our grandmother, who, as I recall, never actually made it… Still, it is a favorite of everyone who tastes it, and perhaps it is best described by Cousin Vincent as “hideously and viciously delicious.”  And boy was it hideously and viciously delicious yesterday, on a damp spring day with a nice glass of vino bianco from Piemonte.

Check out our wine pairings for Orecchiette con Salciccia e Piselli and our About post that gives a brief history of the dish.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo, Editor