"Little Ears" or "Priests' Hats" with Tomato Sauce (Apulia)

Pasta

Ingredients

Pasta dough:

Graham flour - 2 cups

All purpose flour - 4 cups

Salt - 1 tsp

Warm water

Sauce:

Olive oil - 1/2 cup

Garlic, crushed - 1 clove

Ground lamb or pork - 1 cup

Onion, thinly sliced - 1

Ripe tomatoes - 1 pound

Salt and pepper

Parsley, finely chopped - 2 sprigs

Basil, finely chopped - 1-2 sprigs

Hard ricotta cheese, grated - 1/4 pound

Pasta dough: Mix the flours together in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Dissolve the salt in about 1 cup warm water. Pour this into the well, then work the flour into the liquid to make a dough similar in consistancy to bread dough, but just a little firmer. 

Break off pieces of the dough and roll them into cylinders about 1 inch thick and 12 inches long. Cover the cylinders with a damp cloth as soon as they are formed to prevent them from drying out. When all the dough is used up, cut the cylinders into rounds and shape into an ear by pressing the center with the thumb or the rounded end of a knife. Press each ear well down over the thumb so that it looks like a little round priest's hat without a brim. Spread out on a lightly floured cloth to dry.

Sauce: Heat the oil, fry the garlic clove until it browns, then discard it. Add the meat and simmer for a few minutes, crumbling it with a fork. Add the onion and continue to cook gently. Peel and chop the tomatoes, discarding seeds, and add to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir well, cover and cook over a moderate heat for about 1 hour. Finally, add the parsley and basil.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the hats and cook them rapidly until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain well, turn into a deep, heated serving dish, stir in the sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Serves 6