Spinach cavatelli with semolina flour
Spinach Cavatelli
Spinach cavatelli
Spinach Cavatelli
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 5 min
Ready in: 1 hour 5 min
Yields: Serves eight or more
Spinach Cavatelli with semolina flour
- 1 clamshell spinach, fresh or one bunch
- 3 cups semolina flour
- 3 eggs, large
- 1/4-1/2 cup white or bread flour
- 2-4 tablespoons water, You may have to add it to the dough depending on how much water content is in the spinach
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Homemade Spinach Cavatelli
- Take out your food processor and drop in the whole clamshell of spinach. Pulse until bright green with no large leaf pieces left. Take it out of the processor and set aside.
- Measure your flours and salt in a large bowl and then pour into the food processor. Crack your eggs in a separate bowl. You DO NOT want to crack any eggs over the food tube. Take my word on this. You can ruin the flour mixture with just the tiniest of egg shell pieces. Start the processor and add the eggs and olive oil. Process until the dough comes together.
- Now add your already processed spinach. Pulse until the dough becomes homogenous. At this point, check the dough. If it seems too dry, add some extra water. Pulse it a few more times until reaching the desired consistency.
- Turn the dough out on a floured surface and shape it into a round ball and cover with a tea towel. Let it sit while you prepare the cavatelli maker. See my text on ideas regarding what you can do if you don't own a cavatelli maker.
- Cut pieces of dough off the round ball leaving it covered so it doesn't dry out. Roll the dough out into a long 3/8ths of an inch oblong shape. This will fit in the cavatelli maker.
- Feed the shaped dough into the maker and start the crank. Start with just a few to see if they are coming out the way they should. They should look like mini- hot dog buns with ridges. Which by the way, cavatelli means "minature buns". Place the finished pasta on a tray for either cooking or freezing or a bit of both. Repeat this process until all dough is finished.
- Place a large pasta pot on the stove with water, sprinkle in a few teaspoons of salt and bring it to boiling. Drop in the amount of fresh pasta you want to cook and boil for two to three minutes. The finished pasta will float to the top. Drain the cooked pasta and serve with your favorite sauce.
- If you have pasta to freeze, place them into the freezer before you cook dinner, and take out after dinner. By then they should be nicely frozen. Place the frozen pasta in a freezer bag and store for later use. The frozen pasta will also be cooked in boiling water but for 11 to 12 minutes. This makes for a great quick meal for family or guests. Your guests will be super impressed with fresh pasta for dinner! Have them bring the salad and your dinner is almost ready!
Homemade spinach cavatelli
There really is no comparison between fresh homemade pasta and the stuff that comes dried in a box. Don't get me wrong, some of that stuff is delicious, but homemade pasta is over the top fantastic! Pasta sauce is not your only option in this recipe. You could do a olive oil and garlic sauce, roasted vegetable, or a butter with sage. Your imagination is your only limitation.
If you don't own a cavatelli maker there are other options. You can take your 3/8ths inch roll of pasta and cut it into one inch segments. Roll the tines on the back of a fork over the tops of the pasta and you now have gnocchi (pronounced "noki"). You also could roll out the logs of dough into thinner pieces and then cut them into random lengths. This is called "Pici", a pasta shape popular in Tuscany.
I know recipes like this can seem overwhelming but it's just food and you have the potential for several meals for your efforts. Once you get the hang of it, your family will ask for more! Nothing beats handmade or homemade pasta!
