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Cavatelli with tomato, sausage and basil sauce - 12/17/11

I have never heard of Cavatelli until we ate at Felidia in New York.  As soon as I tasted the cavatellis, I  was totally in love with the texture and taste so I knew that cavatelli will definitely be included in my cooking repertoire.  They are soft and chewy at the same time.  I have never seen them in any restaurant in the Bay area and I have never seen them in any groceries stores.  If you want to make them I should mention that making cavatelli from scratch is labor intensive and time consuming work, so if you don't want to spend the time you might be able to buy them online. But if you have the time, make them and if there is leftovers freeze them.  They will keep in the freezer for up to one year.

I paired the cavatelli with a tomato and Italian sauce and fresh basil.

The cavatelli are really delicious.  There is nothing like fresh pasta. 

 

Close look at the dish.
 

Preparation work..

Ingredients:

For the cavatelli:

16 oz ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup or more for flouring the board etc...

 

For the sauce:

3 to 4 tomatoes depending on size

1 can diced tomatoes

Italian sausage

1 Chinese eggplants

Fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoons red pepper flakes.

salt and pepper to taste

Put 2 1/2 cups of flour in a large bowl.  Add the eggs, salt, and ricotta.

Mix it well together

I used a fork in the beginning but using your hands is much easier.

Knead the dough together until soft.

Form the dough into a ball.  Wrap it in plastic and let rest for a least for 30 minutes of more at room temperature.

Take your dough out and divide it into quarters.  Working with one quarter at a time.  Lay the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide it into quarters again.  Take a piece of the divided dough an roll it into a long tube about 1/4 inch in diameter.

Divide the tube into pieces of about 1 inch long.

This is the fun part... Use you index and middle finger and press on each piece of dough ...

..and pull across the length of the dough. You will find that the motion causes the dough to curl up.  It should look like a like miniature hot dog bun.

 

When you are done with each cavatelli, have a lightly floured pan near by so you can toss them in and move on to the next one.  It took me about 2 hours to make the cavatelli.

If you can used all of them, you can freeze them.

Making the sauce.  Cut and dice the tomatoes.

In a hot pan sauté the Italian sausage until they are brown, add red pepper flakes and add fresh tomatoes.

Pour the can diced tomatoes in the pot and let the sauce simmer for a good 30 minutes or longer.  Salt and pepper according to taste.

When the sauce is ready add fresh basil leaves to the pot and stir.  Set aside.

Bring a pot of salted  water to boiling point and add the cavatelli.

The cavatelli only takes about a few minutes to cook.  They are done when they float to the top. 

Drain the cavatelli, and add a spoon of olive oil so they don't stick to each other. Spoon some sauce on top and they are ready to be served. 

 

Filed as: Pasta/Rice

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