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Make your own pasta by hand at home with only a few simple ingredients! This Homemade Cavatelli Pasta is a dream come true and you may wanna try to make it yourself! Easy, made with only 5 ingredients and vegan friendly.
VEGAN HOMEMADE PASTA INGREDIENTS
semolina flour
all-purpose flour
hot water
extra virgin olive oil – olive oil adds a great flavor and makes the dough easier to work with. But you can totally skip it!
salt
WHAT FLOUR USE FOR HOMEMADE PASTA?
Semolina flour is a great choice to for homemade pasta. It’s higher in plasticity which means the pasta such as cavatelli will hold the shape.
Regular all-purpose flour will work as well. The gluten is developed depending on how long the dough is kneaded. The longer the dough is mixed, the firmer and stretchier dough. So just remember to knead the pasta dough by hand for about 8 minutes or use a standing mixer with a dough hook! So you can half and half or all purpose only if you don’t have semolina flour on hand!
HOW DO YOU MAKE HANDMADE CAVATELLI PASTA FROM SCRATCH?
To make the cavatelli pasta, first you need to make a simple homemade pasta dough.
In a large bowl, stir flours and salt. Add hot water, olive oil and mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Transfer to a floured working surface and knead for about 8 minutes to a smooth and elastic ball. Add more flour if the dough is too wet or more water if too dry. Use a pastry scraper or a knife to release the dough from the surface.
Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
HOW TO SHAPE ITALIAN CAVATELLI PASTA USING CAVATELLI BOARD
Once the dough is done and rested, cut it into four pieces and roll each piece into a pencil thin rope. Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces. Place a piece of the dough on a floured cavatelli board and use your index finger to press into the dough dragging it towards you. There will be a little curl that forms.
Ideally, you will need a cavatelli board to get that beautiful pattern from the board. If you don’t have a board, you can do it using a fork, hand garter or do it o a flat surface! Here’s a great detailed article how to shape cavatelli.
DRYING HOMEMADE PASTA
Drying allows the pasta to dry a little bit and it becomes more firm and not as sticky sticky. That helps prevent the pasta from sticking together when cooking.
HOW TO COOK HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH
If cooking the pasta immediately, drop in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 5-8 minutes. The cavatelli are done when they float to the top. Make sure to taste and see if they are cooked to your liking.
CAN YOU FREEZE HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH?
Absolutely yes! Simply dust a large baking sheet with some flour. Then transfer the cavatelli to the baking sheet and spread them out into one single layer. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let the cavatelli freeze until firm. (about 25-30 minutes) Once the pasta is firm, transfer to a plastic freezer bag. The best part is that you won’t need to thaw the pasta before cooking. They will need a few minutes longer to cook though!
EASY VEGAN PASTA SAUCE TO GO WITH HOMEMADE CAVATELLI
You can serve homemade pasta with any sauce you like. When I want something easy and quick I put together a few ingredients that I always keep in my pantry.
Tomato sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic
variety of herbs (fresh or dry) such as basil oregano, thyme etc
Pink salt The great thing is, you can double or tripe the recipe depending on how much sauce you need. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator!
I hope you try this Italian cavatelli pasta yourself! I would love to hear how it came out! Use the hashtag #natteats and tag @natteats so I can see your creations! If you’d like to stay updated with my recipes, go ahead and visit my Facebook, Instagram or subscribe!
Ingredients
HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH
1 1/2 cup semolina flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or more if needed
1 cup hot water, filtered or as needed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp pink salt
TOMATO PASTA SAUCE
1 can tomato sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
variety of herbs (fresh or dry) such as basil oregano, thyme etc
pink salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir semolina, all purpose flour and salt. Add water, olive oil and mix together until well combined.
- Transfer to a floured working surface and knead for about 8 minutes to a smooth and elastic ball. Add more flour if the dough is too wet or more water if too dry
- Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces on a floured surface. Roll out each piece into into a pencil thin rope (keep the rest under the kitchen towel). Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces. Place a piece of the dough on a floured cavatelli/gnocchi board and use your index finger to press into the dough dragging it towards you. There will be a little curl that forms. If you don't own a gnocchi board, you can do it on a flat surface. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Allow the pasta to dry for about 25-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and drop the pasta in the water. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or to your liking. Pasta will float on top when it's done.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Heat up olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce, add salt and dry herbs if using (if using fresh, add it when the sauce is almost done cooking). Bring it to a simmer and cook for a bout 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ingredients
HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH
1 1/2 cup semolina flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or more if needed
1 cup hot water, filtered or as needed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp pink salt
TOMATO PASTA SAUCE
1 can tomato sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
variety of herbs (fresh or dry) such as basil oregano, thyme etc
pink salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir semolina, all purpose flour and salt. Add water, olive oil and mix together until well combined.
- Transfer to a floured working surface and knead for about 8 minutes to a smooth and elastic ball. Add more flour if the dough is too wet or more water if too dry
- Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces on a floured surface. Roll out each piece into into a pencil thin rope (keep the rest under the kitchen towel). Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces. Place a piece of the dough on a floured cavatelli/gnocchi board and use your index finger to press into the dough dragging it towards you. There will be a little curl that forms. If you don't own a gnocchi board, you can do it on a flat surface. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Allow the pasta to dry for about 25-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and drop the pasta in the water. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or to your liking. Pasta will float on top when it's done.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Heat up olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce, add salt and dry herbs if using (if using fresh, add it when the sauce is almost done cooking). Bring it to a simmer and cook for a bout 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.