Orecchiette

Orecchiette is a kind of pasta (hand-made) from Southern Italy, Puglia region. It's called orecchietta because its shape reminds of a small ear (orecchietto in Italian). I don't know (of course), nor do I have the skills to make orecchiette by myself - I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to making pasta with my hands - but you can buy fresh ones in gourmeries, and let me tell you, after I tasted them, I'm seriously thinking of making them by myself soon. You can also buy them dry as the other kinds of pasta, but trust me, the fresher the better.
I love the simplicity of some ingredients, a couple of them put together and you have an easy but delicious dish.

Orecchiette al pomodoro
(serves 2)
200 gr. of orecchiette (fresh or dry, whatever you can get)
tomato sauce
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a bunch of fresh basil leaves
1 spicy red pepper
half a cup of grated ricotta salata (or parmigiano cheese)
salt


Peel the garlic, then fry it in a pan with the olive oil and the red pepper (diced), after a couple of minutes add the tomato sauce, salt and basil. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, then take away the garlic.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water, drain and add it to the sauce pan, cook together -low heat-for a few minutes.
Serve the orecchiette in the plates and add the grated ricotta, decorate with basil leaves.