Sam's Place: cavatelli

This homemade cavatelli pasta recipe has been in our family for years; I swear every time we make them they get better.

The homemade cavatelli dough is really easy to make and we enjoy spending a little extra time to have something homemade.

If you like pasta you're going to love cavatelli. There is always something special about fresh homemade pasta.

You may not know what cavatelli are. So let me explain right from Wikipedia. Cavatelli is a type of pasta. The most common meaning is small pasta shells that look like miniature hot dog buns.

Homemade Cavatelli Recipe Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheese

All-Purpose Flour

Salt

Egg

You can use the whole ricotta cheese but we prefer to use the part skim.

Here is the Recipe for homemade cavatelli:

2 1/2 to 3-Cups of flour
1-pound of ricotta cheese (You buy ricotta in 15 oz. containers) this is okay
1-Egg
1-Tsp of salt

Combine all ingredients in the bowl, set your KitchenAid on the lowest speed and let it work until the dough binds together.

You'll probably have to take it out of the bowl and work it with your hands until it's smooth.
If you don't have a KitchenAid stand mixer that's okay.

You really don't need one. You just have to mix the dough with your hands. Just work the dough until it all comes together and it's smooth and forms a ball. Don't forget to wash your hands first!

Here you see the dough formed into a ball.
This recipe yields 2 lbs. and we call this one batch of cavatelli. I don't know why but that's what we call it.

Now cover this with a bowl and let it rest for about 1/2 hour. While you’re waiting you could mix up the second batch.

Now you'll want to spread some flour out onto a cutting board or your counter. Form the dough into one large log, as you see in the picture.

Then cut 1/2" slices which you will then roll into smaller 1/2" logs. Roll them in the flour because you don't want the dough to be wet.

As you can see in the picture here, I have made three batches. We like to make cavatelli for some family events.

Attach the cavatelli machine to your counter. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and spread some flour over it.

Start feeding the logs and crank out those little beauties onto a floured cookie sheet.
Keep adding some flour to the rollers of the machine so they don't stick.

If adding flour doesn't prevent them from sticking, just let the logs set a while, as they are too wet.

Pictured here is our grandson Bobby cranking out the cavatelli. He was 7 years old in this picture and he is the greatest helper.

My grandmother used to make these without a machine; she would cut the logs and sort of flip them with two fingers. I never could master that so I opted for the machine, it is much faster.