Adventures in Pasta-Making Part 1: Homemade Cavatelli with Pesto

My generation has grown up in the era of convenience food.  I also happen to live in a city where great Italian food is never hard to find.  These are my flimsy excuses for something that, as a nice Italian girl, I am embarrassed to admit: I have never made my own pasta.  I mean, come on!  I buy the really good dried stuff!  And now that I live in Chicago, home of Italian grocery stores in every neighborhood, I buy the fresh stuff whenever I have the chance!  That's just as good, right?  Wrong.  Up until this point, I've probably been a disgrace to my own Italian-ness.  My Aunt Karen, domestic goddess extraordinaire, makes her own pasta.  She makes her own mozzarella, for pete's sake!  My mother makes a red clam sauce that will bring you to your knees.  My Nana is a veritable queen of meatballs. And both my little Italian great-grandmothers made pasta to feed crowds.  It's about time I joined the ranks of my family's great women.


My first project: cavatelli.  Little shell-like pasta dumplings that are delicious with just about anything.  After some research, I realized that there are many variations on these little beauties.  Some recipes produce a typical pasta dough.  According to my Aunt, my great-grandmother Panfili used to make cavatelli with a potato dough similar to that used for gnocchi.  I decided to try a recipe that uses ricotta cheese, which produces a light, fluffy dumpling.  As the great women of my family would say: Mangia!


Ricotta Cavatelli
Makes a whole lot (about 2 lbs.)


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted + extra for dusting
1 lb. ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten


After sifting the flour into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the center.  Pour the ricotta and the eggs into the well.  

Ricotta and eggs hanging out in the well

Next, mix the ricotta and eggs into the flour until the dough forms.  I used an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.

The dough will form one big lump

Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a well-floured surface.  Knead the dough until it becomes soft and uniform.  If the dough is sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough and knead it in.  Form the dough into a ball, cover with your mixing bowl, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Now that's some well-rested dough!

Once the dough has rested, cut it into quarters. Start with one quarter, placing the rest under the mixing bowl to prevent them from drying out.  Roll the dough under your fingers until it forms a rope, about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick.  With a sharp knife, cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces.

Future cavatelli

Take each piece and starting at one cut end, press and drag 2-3 fingers toward yourself.  The little piece of dough will sort of roll over on itself.

Place the finished cavatelli on a large baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Allow them to dry for 30 minutes.  If you don't plan to cook them right away, place the baking sheet in the freezer.  Once the cavatelli are frozen, you can place them in a freezer bag and return them to the freezer.  They will keep for several months in the freezer.  

Ready to eat (or freeze)!

If you do plan to cook them, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the cavatelli and cook until they float, about 5-6 minutes.  Enjoy with any sauce you like, including...

Yum!

Classic Pesto

Makes about 1 cup of pesto

5 large handfuls of basil (if you don't have an over-active basil plant living on your windowsill, this can get expensive!  Some stores, like Whole Foods, have bulk herbs - look for basil there!)

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup pine nuts or 3/4 cup walnuts (whichever you have in the house)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

The juice of 1 lemon (or half of a juicy lemon, you want about 1 TBSP of juice)

1 clove of garlic

Plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients and 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a food processor.  Blend until smooth and consistent.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.