If Puglia had to choose one dish to represent its heart, it wouldn’t be a grand seafood platter or an elaborate Sunday roast.
It would be something humbler — a bowl of orecchiette con le cime di rapa: handmade pasta, bitter greens, anchovies, and olive oil.
Nothing about it looks extravagant. But one bite and you understand why it’s the region’s anthem — the edible shorthand for Puglia’s history, landscape, and temperament.

The Origin of a Classic

Orecchiette con le cime di rapa is more than a recipe; it’s a ritual.
It’s born of timing — the season when the turnip greens are tender, the days still short, and the air smells faintly of wood smoke and olive pressings.

This dish appeared centuries ago, when Puglia’s farmers, working the wheat plains and olive groves, relied on what grew easily: greens, garlic, wheat, and oil. Meat was rare, cheese was precious, but the land was generous in its simplicity.

Cime di rapa — literally “turnip tops” — are the leafy, slightly bitter shoots of a local brassica, often harvested in late winter. They were once dismissed as peasant fare, yet their taste is so distinct — bitter, peppery, grassy — that they became the signature green of southern Italy.

When paired with orecchiette, those thumb-shaped pasta that cradle every drop of sauce, the combination becomes magic. The bitterness of the greens meets the warmth of olive oil, the salt of anchovies, the gentle burn of chili, and the subtle chew of durum wheat.
Together, they form a perfect harmony: earthy, spicy, vegetal, golden.

A Dish of the People

In Bari, Foggia, and Brindisi, this is not restaurant food — it’s weekday food, Sunday food, family food.
You’ll find it steaming on the tables of farmhouses, seaside trattorie, and urban apartments alike.

In the old quarters of Bari, grandmothers still roll their orecchiette on wooden boards, the same ones their mothers used.
They know exactly when cime di rapa are in season — usually between November and March — and how to recognize the perfect bunch: dark green leaves, tight buds, no flowers yet.

Markets fill with them in winter, stacked in fragrant green piles beside fennel bulbs and artichokes. If you ask for cime di rapa, the vendor will always smile and say: “For orecchiette, of course?”
There’s no other answer. In Puglia, this combination is instinctive.

The Anatomy of the Dish

The ingredients list is short but uncompromising. Each element does a job.

Cime di Rapa:
The soul. Slightly bitter, faintly mustardy, rich in iron and character. If unavailable, broccoli rabe (rapini) is the best substitute, but true cime di rapa are softer and more aromatic.

Orecchiette:
The vessel. Made from durum wheat semolina and water — no eggs — giving them a rustic texture that catches oil and greens.

Olive Oil:
The lifeblood of Puglia. The preferred variety is Coratina — sharp, fruity, a little peppery. It’s what lifts the whole dish from earthy to elegant.

Anchovies:
The secret. They dissolve in the pan, leaving behind pure umami depth — not fishy, just full of warmth.

Garlic & Chili:
The spark. Sautéed until golden, they perfume the oil, bringing a soft heat that runs through every bite.

Together, they build something that’s not heavy, but profoundly satisfying — a dish that feels both ancient and modern, luxurious and austere.

Traditional Recipe: Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 400g orecchiette (fresh if possible)
• 400g cime di rapa (or broccoli rabe)
• 3 anchovy fillets in oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chili, finely chopped
• 80ml extra virgin olive oil (Coratina preferred)
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh breadcrumbs (optional, toasted for garnish)

Method

• Prepare the greens
  Wash and trim the cime di rapa, removing tough stems and keeping leaves and tender buds. Blanch them in salted boiling water for about 3–4 minutes until softened but still bright. Remove with tongs, reserve the water for the pasta.
• Cook the pasta
  In the same pot of water, cook the orecchiette until al dente. The starchy, green-tinted water enhances the sauce later.
• Make the sauce
  In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and chili, sauté until fragrant and lightly golden. Add anchovies, breaking them up with a wooden spoon until they melt into the oil.
• Combine and toss
  Add the drained cime di rapa to the pan. Toss well so the greens absorb the anchovy-garlic oil. Add the cooked orecchiette directly from the pot with a ladle of the pasta water. Stir over medium heat for 1–2 minutes until everything emulsifies.
• Finish and serve
  Drizzle with more olive oil and, if desired, top with toasted breadcrumbs — the southern answer to Parmesan. Serve immediately, ideally with a crisp white wine like a Fiano di Puglia.

Why It Works

The brilliance of this dish lies in emulsification — the union of oil, pasta water, and starch. When done right, the oil transforms from slick to silky, coating the pasta like a sauce made in the moment.
The bitterness of the greens contrasts with the richness of the oil and anchovy. Every component knows its role and plays it perfectly.

This is the essence of southern Italian cooking: modest ingredients, elevated by knowledge and rhythm.

Plant-Based Version: Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa (Vegan)

A plant-based adaptation of this dish requires no reinvention — just sensitivity.
Anchovies, the traditional source of umami, can be replaced by a mix of briny and savory flavors that echo the sea.

Ingredients

• 400g orecchiette
• 400g cime di rapa or broccoli rabe
• 3 tbsp capers, chopped (or 1 tsp seaweed flakes)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chili, finely chopped
• 80ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• Toasted breadcrumbs with lemon zest (for topping)

Method

1. Blanch cime di rapa as above, reserving cooking water.
2. Heat olive oil, garlic, and chili in a large pan until fragrant.
3. Add chopped capers (or seaweed flakes) — they’ll infuse the oil with a subtle, marine saltiness.
4. Add the greens, toss to coat, and then combine with cooked pasta and a little pasta water.
5. Serve with toasted breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of lemon zest for brightness.

The result is nearly indistinguishable from the original — still Pugliese in heart and flavor, but completely plant-based.

The Modern Revival

In recent years, chefs across Italy have rediscovered orecchiette con le cime di rapa as a statement of authenticity.
At Antichi Sapori in Montegrosso, Pietro Zito reimagines it with wild herbs and local burrata, turning the peasant dish into poetry.
In Polignano a Mare, seaside trattorie serve it with a hint of lemon zest and bottarga for coastal refinement.
Even Michelin-starred restaurants, like Pashà in Conversano or Casa Mia in Trani, now feature versions of the dish that honor its roots while elevating its simplicity.

But at home, it remains unchanged.
Every family has its own ratio of oil to greens, its own garlic patience, its own favorite bowl.
In Bari, mothers still say: “If you can make orecchiette con le cime di rapa properly, you can cook anything.”

A Taste of the Land

Few dishes taste as distinctly of place as this one.
It is Puglia condensed: the bitter fields, the sunny gold of wheat, the salt of the sea, the oil of the olives.
It’s what happens when landscape becomes language — when flavor becomes geography.

Each bite tells a story: of farmers and fishermen, of grandmothers and granddaughters, of a region that believes in the quiet power of its own simplicity.

Fun Facts

• Cime di rapa is a winter crop — locals say it’s sweetest after the first frost.
• Toasted breadcrumbs on top are called mollica fritta — “poor man’s cheese.”
• In Bari, it’s bad luck to eat this dish out of season — the greens must be fresh, never frozen.
• Traditionalists insist that orecchiette should never be strained: they’re scooped from the pot straight into the sauce to keep their starch intact.
• Some families add a few olives or crushed almonds — a nod to Puglia’s other beloved crops.

Final Thoughts

Orecchiette con le cime di rapa isn’t a recipe you follow; it’s one you inherit.
It captures the humility and strength of southern Italy — a dish that asks for little but gives everything.

It’s bitter and tender, rustic and elegant, rural and eternal.
A reminder that perfection doesn’t come from abundance, but from harmony.
And that in Puglia, even the simplest bowl of pasta can taste like the whole land itself.