HOMEMADE CAVATELLI AND ORECCHIETTE
WITH DOMENICA COOKS

 
 

In this online hands-on class, we focus on two traditional shapes from the Italian South: cavatelli and orecchiette. The dough calls for just semolina and water, and no fancy equipment is needed to mix it or to roll it out. Instead, we roll up our sleeves and do it all by hand ~ mixing, kneading, and shaping. Although the two shapes look quite different, they are related, as you’ll see when you start the shaping process. But while cavatelli are easy to make, orecchiette take a little more skill and practice. That’s what we’ll focus on.

Where there’s pasta there must be sauce, right? So of course we will make a classic sausage and rapini “sauce” to go with our pasta.
You will find links to printable versions of both recipes below.


ZOOM LINK FOR CLASS

Please follow the above link to access the class at the appointed date and time.


C LASS PREPARATION

Here are a few things you can do to get ready for class:

Refer to the ingredients and equipment lists below to make sure you have everything you need before the class date. Links are provided for less common ingredients and for ingredients/brands I like and use.

Read through the recipes before class (printable versions linked below) to familiarize yourself with them, and to help make sense of the ingredients and equipment lists.

Before class, gather your ingredients and equipment and do any measuring/prep work, if possible. Measure out the flour for you pasta; have your rapini washed and ready to blanch; remove your sausages from their casings.



INGREDIENTS LIST

Note that the links provided below for ingredients and equipment are mainly to give you a clear idea of what you will need or what will be useful. You can buy from the purveyors I’ve linked to (I don’t receive any commissions) or from your preferred sources.

Please refer to the printable recipes, linked below, for specific ingredient amounts.

For the pasta:

Semola rimacinata or semolina flour for making the pasta. This is a hard-wheat flour typically used to make pasta in the south of Italy. You can find semolina flour, such as Bob's Red Mill, at most grocery stores. Semola rimacinata is a more finely milled version of semolina. If you can find it, it's the best flour to make this pasta.

Here are online sources for semola rimacinata:

For the sauce:

  • 1 bunch rapini (broccoli rabe)

  • 3 links (about 12 oz./340 g) Italian sausages, either sweet or hot, or a mix of both

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • Garlic (1 clove)

  • Fresh chile pepper or crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

  • Dry white wine

  • Pecorino Romano cheese

EQUIPMENT LIST

  • Dough scraper (optional; very useful for mixing dough and also for shaping)

  • Gnocchi board for shaping the pasta (optional; you can also use a fork or just rely on your fingers).

  • Large rimmed baking sheet for holding your pasta once you’ve shaped it

  • Table fork and table knife for mixing dough and shaping cavatelli and orecchiette

PRINTABLE RECIPES