Cavatini Pasta Recipes

CAVATINI II

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine green pepper, onion, pepperoni, mushrooms, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and garlic. Cover, and simmer for one hour.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix together pasta, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, and Parmesan. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, alternate pasta and cheese mixture and sauce mixture, ending with sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

EASY CAVATINI

Steps:

• Chop the onion and green pepper.
• Cook pastas together; drain well.
• Saute beef, onion, and green pepper until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are soft. Add the pepperoni and heat thoroughly. Drain excess grease.
• Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
• Spray a 3-qt casserole with cooking spray. Put 1/2 of the pasta in the casserole. Spoon 1/2 of the meat sauce mixture over the pasta. Spoon the container of cottage cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese.
• Top with the remaining pasta, then sauce, then mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

RICOTTA CAVATELLI

Steps:

• Combine the ricotta, eggs and salt in a large bowl, then stir into the flour. Gently combine with your hands to bring together into a dough. Knead the dough together, adding additional flour until the dough is firm and not sticky. Tightly wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Cut the dough into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, roll the dough on a lightly-floured surface into a 1/4-inch-thick rope. With a knife, cut the rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Use a bench scraper or your index and third fingers held together to gently press down on each piece, beginning at the top and moving down toward the bottom, dragging the bench scraper toward you and causing the pasta to roll over on itself. Transfer the formed pasta to a lightly-floured baking sheet and let dry at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. (At this point, the pasta can be frozen in a single layer and stored in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer.)
• Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until the cavatelli are al dente and begin to float to the top, 3 to 5 minutes.

CAVATINI

Steps:

• Cook the beef, sausage, onion and green pepper until brown.
• Drain and set aside.
• Mix the pepperoni, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, mushrooms and salad peppers.
• Stir into the meat mixture.
• Add the cooked pasta shells.
• Spoon 1/2 of the mixture into 2 greased 11x7 inch baking dishes.
• Combine the two cheeses and divide the amount in half.
• Take one half of the cheese and sprinkle on top of the meat in each dish.
• Take the remaining 1/2 of the meat mixture and cover the cheese in the two dishes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Top each dish with the remaining 1/2 of the cheese.
• Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

QUICK CAVATINI (SUPREME PIZZA PASTA)

Steps:

• Cook pasta to al dente stage. Drain and set aside.
• Brown ground beef and onion in large pan. Drain beef and return to pan.
• Add sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, green pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer 5 minutes.
• Add pasta to pan and mix well.
• Spoon into casserole dish and top with mozzarella.
• Bake at 350* for 15 minutes (will need longer if previously refrigerated or frozen) until cheese is melted and bubbly.