Orecchiette are the typical pasta of Puglia, the heel of Italy. Nowadays you can buy them in many supermarkets all over the world, but local women in the region still hand-make them for special occasions or just for Sunday lunch. The most traditional way to serve them is with broccoli raab and anchovies sauce, see footnote below.
Cooking time will depend on dryness. If the orechiette are freshly made, it will take about 5 minutes. If they are a few days old and dry, cooking takes about 8 to 10 minutes. In any case, as always when cooking pasta, the best way to check is to taste.
If you cannot find the durum or semolina "rimacinata", mix regular semolina with plain white flour, about 50% to 50%.