Homemade anellini pasta alla pecorara is another of these recipes. Of course. this doesn’t mean you can’t serve the pasta with other sauces. It just means it’s not traditional to do so. So, anellini alla pecorara is a dish of a particular type of pasta and sauce eaten together. In Abruzzo, you can find fresh anellini to buy in many food stores. Interestingly, the pasta is sold as anellini alla pecorara or pecorara di Elice. Although, many locals still make this pasta themselves. Outside of the region, the only way to enjoy this dish in its authentic form is to use homemade pasta, which is what we did. What is anellini pasta? Make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a sauce pan, add the flour and whisk and let it cook a little, careful not to burn, but keep whisking.

This baked anelletti is a delicious baked pasta with a hearty meaty tomato sauce topped with bread crumbs and cheese and baked to perfection! I’m sure you’ll love this traditional Tuscan kale, white bean and pasta soup as much as we do. It’s super healthy and nutritious. One of our favourite pasta soup recipes, particularly during the colder months of the year or just when we want to have a healthy meatless meal. Caciocavallo cheese: cut into cubes. Other cheeses such as mild provolone or mozzarella may be substitued. The word ‘pecora’ means sheep in Italian and alla pecorara means shepherd’s style. So, I imagine this dish got its name from the generous quantity of sheep’s ricotta and pecorino in it. Like many traditional Italian pasta recipes, anellini alla pecorara is a dish that originated in what the Italians call ‘la cucina povera’, meaning the peasant kitchen. It’s made with produce the peasants and farmers made or grew themselves. Thus, the vegetables they grew, the cheese they produced and the pasta they made themselves! Add tomato passata or chopped tomatoes to soffrito. Season, stir and simmer. How to make the pecorara sauce.

Tuscan Kale.

There are several variations of this baked anelletti recipe: it can be made with a simple meatless tomato sauce; some add prosciutto cut into cubes stirred in with the pasta; and béchamel sauce can be drizzled over the pasta as I do with my lasagna. Is baked anelletti with eggplant difficult to make? Nowadays, these dishes are still an important part of Tuscan cuisine but by choice instead of by economy. The main staples in the regional diet are meat, bread and legumes, particularly beans. The latter are so common in local dishes that Tuscans are often referred to as ‘mangiafagioli’, meaning bean eaters! Step 2 Prepare the ingredients Anelli, also known as anelletti (Italian for “little rings”) is a small, circular pasta . These pasta rings can come in two sizes, and the smaller size (a noodle you might recognize from the American pantry food SpaghettiOs) is called anellini. Where does it come from? I loved Heinz spaghetti hoops as a child, there’s something so joyous and nostalgic about enjoying them on buttered toast. After not being able to have them for years I noticed the ingredients used were quite simple, so I set about creating the perfect recipe at home. I am VERY pleased with the result! Anolini is a pasta that hails from the region of Parma in northern Italy. These are small circular ravioli that are stuffed with a slow-cooked beef filling. There is a brass tool or stamp that is often used to cut the filled pasta into perfectly round shapes.

Of course, you can serve this sauce with other types of pasta. I think it would go really well with orecchiette or cavatelli, especially if they are homemade. However, if you make homemade anellini, I’m sure you’ll love the authentic version of this pasta recipe from Abruzzo as much as we do. Serve with sautéed veggies, extra ricotta and grated pecorino (if using) This eye catching dish is a specialty from Palermo, Sicily. Some refer to it as a timballo or timpano, which is a baked pasta dish encased in dough or in this case, eggplant.

The tomato sauce.

Nearly all recipes for homemade anellini alla pecorara call for sautéed egpplant, zucchini and bell peppers. The latter can be any colour but I prefer red, yellow or orange. This time, I used one red pepper and one yellow. These are all summer veggies, although nowadays we can find them year-round. Some recipes also include mushrooms but not the one I followed. Of course, you can add them too. Sauté the cubed vegetables with olive oil and garlic With dried pasta rings, anellini or anelletti are generally smaller than anelli. But, homemade anellini pasta rings from Abruzzo are bigger. I guess it’s difficult to make very tiny ones by hand! How to make homemade anellini pasta rings. Add the remaining pasta and top with the reserved sauce. Sprinkle with extra grated Parmigiano cheese. Press down lightly on the pasta. You will find a similar combination of ingredients in a couple of my other Sicilian pasta recipes such as lasagna and pasta al forno. Possible variations of this dish

The anelletti pasta, little round circle pasta, is to be baked ONLY with a ragu sauce. This pasta is a baked anelletti pasta dish. You would not serve anelleti like you serve spaghetti, boiled to al dente and then served with a marinara sauce. Anelletti is to be baked in the forno or oven. So you could call this Forno Anelletti. Anelletti al forno with eggplant is a classic Sicilian baked pasta made with meat ragu and peas, eggplant, hard boiled eggs and anelletti, a small ring shaped pasta of Sicilian origin. This impressive pasta dish is prepared on special occasions or for Sunday lunches with family.

More Vegetarian

In Italy, it’s popular to serve this soup with a dash of extra virigin olive oil and some grated parmigiano. Of course, Italian parmigiano isn’t vegetarian so vegans and vegetarians will want to leave it out or use a vegetarian or vegan cheese. Add grated parmigiano or vegetarian parmesan if desired. What to do with leftovers. If you prefer a meatless version, omit the meat and add chunks of fresh mozzarella instead, believe me it’s all good! Prepare a 10 inch (24 cm) spring form pan by coating it with olive oil. Coat the bottom and sides with a layer of breadcrumbs. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Some of the liquid may leak out from the bottom of the pan during baking. After soaking and boiling the beans, if necessary, the next step is to wash, peel and chop the other veggies as needed. I used my Dutch oven to make this Tuscan soup, but you can use any heavy bottomed large soup pot. Cover the top of the pasta with the slices of eggplant hanging over the sides of the pan. Top with additional eggplant slices to completely cover the pasta.