Cavatelli pasta, a product of Southern Italy, is traditionally made by hand and works well with thick, creamy sauces. It can be served with broccoli, shrimp, mushrooms, and other vegetables or meats. While it can be made at home, it is also widely available in grocery stores and Italian specialty food stores. It should not be confused with gnocchi.
Dozens of delicious pastas make up the tasty world of Italian cuisine. Cavatelli is a durum flour-based pasta that works with marinara sauce, cream sauce, and many other variations. Shaped like a small hot dog bun with a long rolled edge, cavatelli pasta is great for containing thick, creamy sauces.
A product of Southern Italy, these noodles are traditionally made by hand. After the dough has been rolled out, the long tubular dough strands are cut into small pieces. Each noodle is then flattened with the thumb, then rolled to form the curved hot dog bun-shaped noodle that the pasta is famous for.
When cavatelli noodles are not available, some similar noodles can be used. Conchiglioni, casarecci and cochiglie noodles can contain the thick sauces for which cavetelli are typically intended. Casarecci, in particular, is very similar to cavatelli, even though it is a longer noodle. All of these noodles can also be used in pasta salad recipes.
Broccoli is a favorite serving suggestion used with cavatelli. Other common additions include shrimp, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, capers, green olives, spinach and squash. Pasta can also work well when served with meat, such as chicken or turkey. Creamy, vegetable, meat and seafood based sauces work well with this type of pasta.
Preparing cavatelli at home is possible, even if it is not considered a simple culinary endeavor. To make the pasta, slowly mix one pound (one-half of a kilogram) of flour, two eggs, and one pound (one-half of a kilogram) of cottage cheese. Knead the mixture to create a soft, pliable dough.
Wrap the dough and cover in a dish for at least thirty minutes. Once you’re ready to form the dough shapes, divide the dough into sections and roll them into tubes. Cut each tube into one-inch (two-and-a-half centimeters) sections before rolling them into curved shapes. The dough can be kept in the fridge or freezer.
Purchasing the noodles is generally not required, however. Many grocery stores and most Italian specialty food stores carry pasta. When sold in the grocery store, these noodles can often be found in the frozen food section. Many restaurants, both Italian and non-Italian, also serve cuisine.
Cavatelli noodles are not to be confused with gnocchi. While similar in shape, the former is made from a harder flour base. The noodles may also contain cottage cheese as an end product. Gnocchi, on the other hand, is a softer noodle, typically made with potatoes.
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