Homemade Cavatelli Pasta (2-Ingredient Recipe!)

Discover the joy of making homemade Cavatelli Pasta with just two simple ingredients - semola rimacinata and water! These Italian pasta shells are made with no eggs and are slightly denser than gnocchi and perfect to pair with your favorite sauces for a delicious, easy meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 10

Servings people

Calories 360kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

200 g semola rimacinata
100 g water room temperature

Instructions

Make the Cavatelli

On flat surface, preferably a wooden surface, like a large wooden board, place the semola.
Create a well in the center of the semola (using your hands or a small bowl), and place the water in the well.
With a fork, start mixing together the semola and water, and slowly bringing more semola from the sides into the center. Keep doing this until most of the semola and water are mixed together and the mixture is comprised of large chunks.
You can use a bench scraper to help you bring the dough together even more.
Once the dough has mostly come together, start kneading with your hands. There will be a lot of semola on the board, but as you keep kneading, it will attach to the ball of dough.
Knead on the wooden surface for about 10 minutes until dough is smooth.
Place a bowl over the dough, or wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Once rested, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Making sure your surface has no flour on it, roll the dough into ½ inch thick piece. In the mean time, make sure the rest of the dough pieces stay covered or else they will dry out.
Cut the long piece of dough into ½ inch wide pieces. Shape the cavatelli by placing one of the cut pieces in front of you, and starting from the cut side, using your index and middle finger, roll the piece toward you, creating an indent in the piece, and creating an almost shell shape.
Note you can also use only one finger or only your thumb but I find using the two fingers works best and gives the best shape.
Place the cavatelli aside while you’re working on the others and dust with semola to prevent from sticking.

How to cook

Boil a pot of water, and add salt.
Add the cavatelli, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Drain, and mix with your favorite sauce.

Video

Notes

When adding water to the semola rimacinata, go slow and aim for a dough that's firm but not too dry. You can always adjust by adding a bit more water if needed.

When shaping the cavatelli, roll them with the cut side at the top and not at the side. If you roll them from the side (uncut part) the shape will not be as pronounced, and look a little different than the traditional cavatelli shape.

A wooden board or surface works best for kneading and shaping cavatelli. It prevents sticking and helps with the dough's texture.

Letting the dough rest for 30 minutes is essential. It relaxes the gluten, making it easier to roll and shape later.

While working on one piece of dough, keep the others covered to prevent drying out. A damp cloth or plastic wrap works well.

Ensure that you cut the dough into evenly sized pieces to make uniform cavatelli.

When shaping the cavatelli, use your index and middle finger to create the characteristic shell shape. You can also experiment with using only one finger or your thumb.

After shaping, dust the cavatelli with semola to prevent sticking while they wait to be cooked.

Season the boiling water with salt before adding the cavatelli. It infuses flavor into the pasta.

Cavatelli cooks quickly, usually in 2-3 minutes. Taste one to ensure it's al dente before draining, and save a bit of pasta water to enhance your sauce if needed.

Nutrition