Orecchiette con Rucola

I remember this recipe being one of the first pasta dishes that I cooked and thought "wow that was tasty!"  It's been a favourite of ours ever since.

Ingredients  serves 4
300g dried orecchiette pasta
400g plum tomatoes, tinned
150g rocket leaves, remove any thick stalks and very loosely chopped
45g ricotta cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp white wine (check veggie friendly)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch of chilli flakes
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Italian hard cheese (vegetarian) freshly ground to serve

Method
Heat on a medium heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan, add half of the finely chopped onion and cook gently until soft which should take about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, chilli flakes and the white wine. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile cook the orecchiette in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the instructions given for the pasta. For this style of pasta it normally takes 15-17 minutes to cook properly to that just tender but firm to the bite al dente.

Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic and the remainder of the onions,  and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the shredded rocket leaves and stir over the heat for about 2 minuted until wilted. Add to the tomato mix then add the ricotta and stir well.

Drain the orecchiette, add to the sauce and mix well ensuring that all the "little ears" of pasta have been coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning of required. Sometimes a little too much ricotta and the dish may need more salt. Remember however that it will be served with salty hard cheese.