Fresh Semolina Cavatelli
This semolina pasta requires just two ingredients (plus salt) and is totally worth making at home. It easily holds its shape (so get playful!) and will deliver a delightfully chewy texture when boiled.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin optional
- Pasta machine optional
- food processor optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups semolina flour spooned and levelled (about 320 g)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup hot water approximately
Instructions
- In food processor, pulse flour and salt to combine. With motor running, gradually drizzle in hot water until mixture clumps together. (See Tip)
- Remove dough to work surface and knead, folding it toward you and then pressing it with the heel of your hand; rotate. Repeat until smooth without adding any flour, 2 to 3 minutes (adding flour 1 tsp at a time if sticky).
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 6 even portions. Working with one piece of dough while keeping the rest covered, use the palms of your hands to roll it into a rope that's 1-cm (scant ½-in) thick. Cut rope into 1-cm (scant ½-in) pieces.
- Using the tines of a fork (turned upside down), a sushi-rolling mat or a wooden cavatelli board, press each piece of dough toward you against the tines or grooves until it curls over itself to form a hollow shell.
- In large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, 2 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove pasta to serving bowls. (This will ensure any excess semolina is left at bottom of pot.) Serve with a pasta sauce, like the 10-Minute Sugo or Thick & Glossy Pomodoro.
Notes
Tip: Semolina flour is a slightly grainy flour made from durum wheat and can be found in the baking section of the grocery store. It has a yellow tint, naturally turning pasta dough a sunny hue without the aid of egg yolks.
Tip: Using hot water to hydrate the semolina keeps it supple and reduces kneading time to mere minutes.
Tip: Uncooked pasta can be frozen for up to 2 weeks and then boiled from frozen and cooked until toothsome.
Tip: If you don’t have a food processor, you can make Fresh Semolina Pasta dough in a bowl. Combine the flour and salt, and then drizzle in the hot water, stirring, until the flour mixture is moistened and pebbly. Knead it in the bowl until a smooth, cohesive dough forms, about 3 minutes.