Homemade Cavatelli With Leftover Sauce Recipes

HOMEMADE CAVATELLI PASTA

Steps:

• Mix semolina flour and salt in a large bowl or on a marble work surface. Make a well in the center.
• Pour water into the well a little at a time, mixing it with the flour. Add as much water as needed to make a sticky but compact dough.
• Knead dough with your hands by flattening the ball, stretching it, and folding the top towards the center. Turn 45 degrees and repeat until dough is elastic and smooth, but not too soft, about 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using. If you are using the cavatelli within a few hours or the following day, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
• Work with one portion of the dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered to keep it from drying out. Dust a work surface with semolina flour; roll out the dough to make a rope, about 1/3 inch thick.
• Cut off little 1/3-inch-thick pieces. Press and gently drag the small piece of dough towards you with your index and middle finger. The two sides will curl inwards, leaving hollow spaces.
• Proceed the same way with the rest of the dough. Transfer cavatelli to a floured surface and sprinkle with more semolina flour. Do not overlap cavatelli or they will stick together. Let dry for about 30 minutes before cooking.

CAVATELLI PASTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the semolina flour on a work surface, make a well in the middle and sprinkle with salt.
• Add most of water into the well in the centre of the flour.
• Start combining water with the flour using your fingers or a fork. Pulling in the flour and forming a dough. Add more water if needed. The dough should feel soft and supple, a bit like playdough.
• Knead well for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic then form into a ball.
• Wrap with plastic and set aside for 30 minutes to rest.
• After 30 minutes, cut off ¼ of the dough. Rewrap the remaining dough.
• Roll the cut off portion of dough into a sausage shape. You shouldn't need any extra semolina/flour but if you do, use it sparingly.
• Continue rolling until you have a long rope about ½ inch ( or approx 1cm) in diameter. It may be easier to cut it in half and keep rolling to achieve this thickness.
• Cut the rope into ¾-1 inch (2-2.5cm) lengths.
• Using two fingers (the index and the middle finger), press firmly onto each piece of dough and drag towards you creating a curl and an indentation.
• Place in a single layer and not touching on parchment (baking) paper that has been dusted with semolina/flour.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes. This will depend on the size of the cavatelli. Taste after 5 minutes and cook longer if needed. Cooking may be even longer than 10 minutes if you have made larger cavatelli.
• Serve with your favorite sauce.

HOMEMADE CAVATELLI IN 3 EASY STEPS

Steps:

• Measure and sieve both flours and mound it on your kitchen worktop (preferably wooden).
• Using your hands, scoop out the center of your mound. Add water and extra virgin olive oil in the center.
• First with a fork then with your hands start to pull in flour to combine ingredients and form the dough.
• Knead for a 5-10 minutes until soft and smooth. Cover with a plastic wrap or a linen towel tucking the edges. Let rest for 10-15 minutes on the counter top to let the dough gain elasticity.
• Using a dough scraper cut off a piece from the dough ball.Roll it into a rope a bit more than ⅓ inch in diameter.Dust the work surface and the dough with some flour.
• Cut the rope into ⅓ inch "pillows".
• Using your index and middle finger press on the "pillow" curling it towards you.
• That's it!If the dough pieces start to stick to your finger, dust cavatelli with some more flour.
• Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

RICOTTA CAVATELLI RECIPE

Steps:

• In a bowl mix together flour, salt, ricotta and water with hands. At first the dough may seem sticky, but work the dough squeezing it together for about 2 minutes.
• After 2 minutes the dough should be relatively formed together - enough that you can make a big ball.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for another 1-2 minutes. This helps the dough to become much smoother.
• Set the dough aside and add more flour to your surface.
• Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a thin strip (about ½ inch thick)
• Using a scissor or knife cut the strips into small balls (smaller than a dime)
• Toss the balls with flour and then use the pasta tool or fork to shape (see above for step by step tutorial.)
• We use the pasta block and press firmly with our pointer or thumb, rolling the pasta downward. Be liberal with the flour when rolling/shaping!
• Place the cavatelli on a floured baking sheet as you're making them - shaking the sheet every few minutes to make sure they're not sticking to one another
• Put the cavatelli on the baking sheet in the freezer for 1 hour.
• When the cavatelli are frozen, pour them into a mesh strainer. Shake the excess flour off of them. *Do not skip this step, if you do you will wind up with gummy pasta water that is not tasty!*
• Store in a ziploc bag or container in the freezer until ready to eat.
• When ready to cook - boil water. Add cavatelli to boiling water and cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until cavatelli float to the top of the pan.
• Serve however you like!

HOMEMADE CAVATELLI WITH "LEFTOVER SAUCE"

Steps:

• For the cavatelli: Add the flour to a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir the ricotta mixture into the flour.
• Transfer the mixture to a floured work surface and, using your hands, gently bring the ingredients together to form a dough. Knead the dough together, adding additional flour as necessary, until the dough is firm and not sticky. Tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into 6 pieces, then roll the pieces into ropes about 1/4 inch in diameter. Cut the ropes into 1/2-inch pieces. Using your thumb or the dull side of a butter knife, press on each piece of dough and pull across the length of it. Continue until all the pasta dough is used. Transfer the pieces to a baking sheet dusted with semolina.
• For the sauce: Warm the tomato sauce with the pulled chicken in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt liberally. Drop in the cavatelli, give them a gentle stir and boil until they begin to float, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Transfer the cavatelli to the sauce along with 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Stir until the pasta is thoroughly combined with the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, butter and basil, Serve with olive oil and cracked black pepper.