Baked orecchiette with lamb alla Materana

Prepare the ingredients.

1. If using leg or shoulder meat, remove from the bone and dice into small pieces. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them by blanching in boiling water and then chop finely. Drain and slice the mozzarella.

Make the lamb sauce.

1. Brown the lamb in olive oil in a large skillet. Once the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the pasta.

1. Whilst the sauce is simmering put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it boils and bring to a boil again. Cook the orecchiette slightly less than al dente. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven. Fresh pasta cooks a lot faster than dried pasta.

Finish, bake and serve.

1. Once the pasta is cooked, save a little of the cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Mix together well.
2. Make a layer of orecchiette and lamb sauce in the bottom of an oven dish. Place pieces of mozzarella on top of the pasta and sprinkle generously with pecorino. Make a second layer of pasta and lamb sauce and repeat the layer of cheese. Depending on the size of your oven dish, you can make 2 or 3 layers.
3. Finally bake the orecchiette with lamb in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°f) for about 20 minutes or until the top starts to crisp and brown. Allow to rest for 5 minutes then serve.