Homemade Pasta with Salento Sauce

Instructions

Place the flour on a clean table top forming a mound with a hole in the center. Add the olive oil, lukewarm water and salt. Work the dough until soft and elastic. Dough should not be too sticky or to hard. Let it stand for at least 30 minutes covered with a towel. Then form it into desired shape: orecchiette, cavatelli or gnocchetti.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan; add chopped onions. Add chopped and seeded tomatoes, basil and salt. Let it cook over low heat.

Cook pasta ‘al dente’ in boiling salted water. Dress with sauce and ricotta forte.

Author's Comments

I lived in Southern Italy last summer and this is one of the typical Salento dishes I learned to make. The amount of tomatoes you need for the sauce depends on how much pasta you are making. I like to say a pound of tomatoes for a pound of pasta.<br />
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* Ricotta forte is a typical cheese to the Salento region. This cheese has a really pungent smell and flavor. If you can’t find it in your supermarket you can add just regular ricotta or just top the dish with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.