This is a fun weekend project that you can recruit friends or family members for some of the work, because it can be time consuming, but it yields a delicious result. There’s something about the chewy texture of this particular pasta recipe that I love. When I worked at A16, cavatelli, meaning “little caves” was a popular dish and one of my favorites. The dough has no egg and is made with regular flour, so you can pretty much make it at any time. The original recipe calls for OO flour, which can be found in specialty markets. It is very finely ground, and contains less gluten than regular flour, so it makes for a softer pasta that can be somewhat easier to work with. As this OO flour can sometimes be hard to find, I used regular all-purpose flour with a still satisfying result. Since I don’t have a pasta machine at home, this is also an ideal recipe. The original recipe was double in size, which could be good for making a lot at one time, and freezing half for up to a month. Freeze the pasta in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer it to an airtight plastic baggie for later use. Since I’m pressed on freezer space, I froze the pasta in a medium-sized plastic container, with a layer of wax paper in between each layer of pasta. You can also use a good-quality dry pasta, like Di Cecco. I also like the organic store brands from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or Sprouts grocery stores.
Alternatively, if you spent a lot of time on the pasta and want to opt for a good quality store-bought pesto, be my guest. This is probably one of the few times I made pesto at home, but something about making both of these things entirely from scratch made them that much more delicious, fresh and creamy. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you could probably also knead the pasta dough by hand for 5 minutes. And if you don’t have a food processor for the pesto, you can also try a blender, or even a mortar and pestle and some patience to grind it up by hand. I think I heard somewhere that you should never heat pesto, and I agree. Just toss the warm, just cooked pasta in the sauce and stir, stir, stir to create a nice emulsion with a little pasta water and the cavatelli, and you’ll get a lovely creamy consistency--all off the stove. If you were to heat it any more, the emulsion would break, the pasta wouldn’t be as creamy but come out oily, and the fresh basil and garlic in the pesto would taste bitter.
If you have any remaining pesto, use it within a day or two, before it oxidizes and turns brown. A spoonful can be stirred into soup, used to top a piece of baked or grilled fish or meat, spread on bread for your lunch sandwich instead of mayo, tossed into a salad with some lemon juice; the possibilities are endless. I’ve also heard you can freeze any remaining pesto for later use, but I think its best used fresh.
Cavatelli
yields 4 first course servings or 2 large entree sized servings
prep time: about 1 hour
inactive prep time: 30 minutes
3 cups OO or all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
¾-1 cup water
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the flour and the salt. Mix for a few seconds until combined, then drizzle in the water on low speed. Start with ¾ c, and if the dough looks too dry add the rest, a tablespoon at a time, until it comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl after about 1-2 minutes. Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The dough should be a firm ball, a little tacky but not sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, to allow the gluten to relax.
When ready to shape the pasta, unwrap the dough from the plastic wrap. Cut off an edge with a pizza wheel or bench cutter (or knife). Roll the cut dough piece into a long snake, about ¼ inch in diameter. Cut the snake into ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. Using your index and middle finger, or index, middle, and ring finger, press down firmly in the middle of the cut dough to create an indentation or small hollow in the dough, and release. When several pieces are shaped, use a sparing amount of flour to keep the shaped pieces from sticking to each other. Place the dough in a single layer on a sheet pan dusted with flur until ready to cook, with a towel on top. Alternatively, layer a single sheet of pasta on top of a piece of parchment in the freezer, and freeze for up to a month until ready to use.
Alternatively, if you spent a lot of time on the pasta and want to opt for a good quality store-bought pesto, be my guest. This is probably one of the few times I made pesto at home, but something about making both of these things entirely from scratch made them that much more delicious, fresh and creamy. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you could probably also knead the pasta dough by hand for 5 minutes. And if you don’t have a food processor for the pesto, you can also try a blender, or even a mortar and pestle and some patience to grind it up by hand. I think I heard somewhere that you should never heat pesto, and I agree. Just toss the warm, just cooked pasta in the sauce and stir, stir, stir to create a nice emulsion with a little pasta water and the cavatelli, and you’ll get a lovely creamy consistency--all off the stove. If you were to heat it any more, the emulsion would break, the pasta wouldn’t be as creamy but come out oily, and the fresh basil and garlic in the pesto would taste bitter.
If you have any remaining pesto, use it within a day or two, before it oxidizes and turns brown. A spoonful can be stirred into soup, used to top a piece of baked or grilled fish or meat, spread on bread for your lunch sandwich instead of mayo, tossed into a salad with some lemon juice; the possibilities are endless. I’ve also heard you can freeze any remaining pesto for later use, but I think its best used fresh.
Cavatelli
yields 4 first course servings or 2 large entree sized servings
prep time: about 1 hour
inactive prep time: 30 minutes
3 cups OO or all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
¾-1 cup water
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the flour and the salt. Mix for a few seconds until combined, then drizzle in the water on low speed. Start with ¾ c, and if the dough looks too dry add the rest, a tablespoon at a time, until it comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl after about 1-2 minutes. Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The dough should be a firm ball, a little tacky but not sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, to allow the gluten to relax.
When ready to shape the pasta, unwrap the dough from the plastic wrap. Cut off an edge with a pizza wheel or bench cutter (or knife). Roll the cut dough piece into a long snake, about ¼ inch in diameter. Cut the snake into ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. Using your index and middle finger, or index, middle, and ring finger, press down firmly in the middle of the cut dough to create an indentation or small hollow in the dough, and release. When several pieces are shaped, use a sparing amount of flour to keep the shaped pieces from sticking to each other. Place the dough in a single layer on a sheet pan dusted with flur until ready to cook, with a towel on top. Alternatively, layer a single sheet of pasta on top of a piece of parchment in the freezer, and freeze for up to a month until ready to use.
Cavatelli from the freezer, ready to be boiled. |
To cook the pasta, bring a gallon of water to the boil with a teaspoon of salt. Toss the pasta into the boiling water and stir. The pasta should take about 2-3 minutes to come to al dente, about when the pasta floats to the top. Drain the pasta, and reserve about ½ cup of pasta water to toss with the pesto. Put the pasta with the pasta water back into the pot, add in the pesto, and continue stirring constantly off the stove until creamy. Top with shaved parmesan, enjoy immediately.
Parmesan is easily shaved with a vegetable peeler |
Fresh basil pesto
prep time: about 15 minutes
yields: 1 1/4 cup, for about 1 pound of pasta, serving 4-6 people
2-4 cups clean basil leaves (more basil for greener flavor, less basil for nuttier flavor)
1/4 cup parsley leaves
¾-1 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts*
2-3 whole garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp lemon zest
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
In the bowl of a food processor, place the basil, parsley leaves, toasted pine nuts, crushed garlic cloves, lemon zest and cheese. Turn on the food processor and slowly drizzle in the olive oil to form a smooth paste, adding more olive oil to achieve the consistency you are looking for, about ¾ to one cup of oil total. Add salt and pepper to taste after adding the oil, since the cheese can be salty.
*To toast pine nuts, or any other nuts for that matter, place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast slowly, for about 5-8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. stirring once or twice with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. I do not recommend toasting nuts in a frying pan on the stove, because the heat distribution is not as even, and the nuts can burn easily.
¾-1 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts*
2-3 whole garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp lemon zest
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
In the bowl of a food processor, place the basil, parsley leaves, toasted pine nuts, crushed garlic cloves, lemon zest and cheese. Turn on the food processor and slowly drizzle in the olive oil to form a smooth paste, adding more olive oil to achieve the consistency you are looking for, about ¾ to one cup of oil total. Add salt and pepper to taste after adding the oil, since the cheese can be salty.
*To toast pine nuts, or any other nuts for that matter, place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast slowly, for about 5-8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. stirring once or twice with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. I do not recommend toasting nuts in a frying pan on the stove, because the heat distribution is not as even, and the nuts can burn easily.