Sausage Cavatelli Recipes

CAVATELLI WITH SAUSAGE AND PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and add the onion. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring, until the sausage and onion are lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Push the mixture to the sides of the skillet and add the tomato paste in the middle. Cook the tomato paste, stirring, until darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rosemary, then stir the tomato paste into the sausage and onion. Stir in the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of the boiling water and bring the sauce to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• While the sauce cooks, add the cavatelli and peas to the remaining boiling water and cook as the cavatelli label directs. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.
• Add the cavatelli, peas and parsley to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Toss to coat, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the cheese and toss. Divide among bowls and top with more cheese.

BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE CAVATELLI

Steps:

• In a skillet, fry sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain, and reserve.
• In the same skillet, cook garlic in olive oil until golden.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until done; drain. Three minutes before the end of the cooking time, add broccoli; drain with pasta.
• In a large serving bowl, toss together the sausage, olive oil and garlic, cavatelli and broccoli, and Parmesan. Season with red pepper flakes.

SAUSAGE CAVATELLI

Steps:

• To cook sausage, squeeze from casings and saute in a heavy skillet or cast iron frying pan.
• Stir until no longer pink and sausage has broken down into small chunks.
• Remove with slotted spoon leaving juices in pan.
• Cut broccoli into 1 inch pieces and saute in juices or drippings.
• Stir gently til it begins to brown.
• Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.
• Add broth and raisins and simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 3 minutes.
• Do not over cook.
• Finally, add butter and stir to melt.
• Add, with sausage, to cooked cavatelli pasta and serve with parmesan cheese.

CAVATELLI WITH BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Fill large pot or Dutch Oven half way full of water and add salt if desired. When water is boiling add pasta, stir often, and cook to al dente. Set aside one cup of pasta cooking water before draining. Do not rinse pasta.
• Wash and dry broccoli, trim and peel stems, cut into florets.
• Over medium heat in large skillet, brown and mash ground sausage into bite size pieces. Transfer sausage to a large serving bowl and add broccoli, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes to pan. Cook for approximately 3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown. Add chicken broth and cook another 3 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
• Add mixture to sausage that was set aside. Add reserved pasta cooking water as needed to add moisture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add grated cheese if desired.

SAUSAGE AND RAPINI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then salt generously. Drop in the rapini and cook until the rapini turns bright green and partially cooks, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spider to transfer the rapini to a bowl of ice water to rapidly cool, reserving the boiling water. Drain the rapini, then cut into 2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Place a large skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Add both sausages and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes if using and cook for an additional minute.
• Meanwhile, add the Ricotta Cavatelli to the boiling water and cook until the cavatelli are al dente and begin to float to the top, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the cooked pasta and rapini to the skillet, along with 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Season with cracked black pepper. Toss to coat the pasta, then remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the pecorino and serve immediately, with more cheese grated over the top and a drizzle of olive oil.
• Combine the ricotta, eggs and salt in a large bowl, then stir into the flour. Gently combine with your hands to bring together into a dough. Knead the dough together, adding additional flour until the dough is firm and not sticky. Tightly wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Cut the dough into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, roll the dough on a lightly-floured surface into a 1/4-inch-thick rope. With a knife, cut the rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Use a bench scraper or your index and third fingers held together to gently press down on each piece, beginning at the top and moving down toward the bottom, dragging the bench scraper toward you and causing the pasta to roll over on itself. Transfer the formed pasta to a lightly-floured baking sheet and let dry at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. (At this point, the pasta can be frozen in a single layer and stored in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer.)