Cavatelli With Asparagus Food

BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE CAVATELLI

Steps:

• In a skillet, fry sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain, and reserve.
• In the same skillet, cook garlic in olive oil until golden.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until done; drain. Three minutes before the end of the cooking time, add broccoli; drain with pasta.
• In a large serving bowl, toss together the sausage, olive oil and garlic, cavatelli and broccoli, and Parmesan. Season with red pepper flakes.

HOMEMADE CAVATELLI PASTA

Steps:

• Mix semolina flour and salt in a large bowl or on a marble work surface. Make a well in the center.
• Pour water into the well a little at a time, mixing it with the flour. Add as much water as needed to make a sticky but compact dough.
• Knead dough with your hands by flattening the ball, stretching it, and folding the top towards the center. Turn 45 degrees and repeat until dough is elastic and smooth, but not too soft, about 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using. If you are using the cavatelli within a few hours or the following day, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
• Work with one portion of the dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered to keep it from drying out. Dust a work surface with semolina flour; roll out the dough to make a rope, about 1/3 inch thick.
• Cut off little 1/3-inch-thick pieces. Press and gently drag the small piece of dough towards you with your index and middle finger. The two sides will curl inwards, leaving hollow spaces.
• Proceed the same way with the rest of the dough. Transfer cavatelli to a floured surface and sprinkle with more semolina flour. Do not overlap cavatelli or they will stick together. Let dry for about 30 minutes before cooking.

LEMONY PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Grate the zest from the lemon into a small bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from half of it on top of the zest. Add the white beans, shallot or onion, grated garlic, red-pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and toss well. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, usually 2 minutes less than the package directs.
• Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, then add the asparagus. Sauté until the asparagus is tender and starting to brown at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Add a big pinch of salt and the sliced garlic and sauté until the garlic is lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
• Dip a coffee mug or glass measuring cup into the pasta water and scoop out about 1/2 cup of it to use for the sauce. Drain pasta, shaking it well. Add pasta, bean mixture, parsley and Parmesan to sauté pan and cook until the beans are hot and the pasta is al dente. If the mixture looks dry, splash in some (or all) of the reserved pasta water. Squeeze remaining lemon half over pasta, toss and taste. Season with pepper; add more salt, red-pepper flakes and lemon juice, if desired.

CAVATELLI WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Make the dough: put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Mix the ricotta and egg in a small bowl with a fork; add to the well. Using a fork and working your way around the well, gradually mix the flour into the ricotta mixture until the dough is crumbly. If the dough is too dry to come together, add up to 3 tablespoons of water, a little at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Working with one piece at a time (and keeping the other pieces wrapped), roll the dough on the counter with your hands into 1/2" thick log. With a knife, cut the log into 1/2" pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten each ball of dough with your finger. Place the back of a butter knife on the flattened dough and gently pull it toward you so the dough curls around the knife. Repeat to form the remaining cavatelli; transfer to a floured baking sheet as you go. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Transfer the cavatelli to a colander and shake over the baking sheet to remove the excess flour. Add the cavatelli to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile , melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat ; add the asparagus and lemon zest and juice. Remove the cavatelli with a strainer or slotted spoon and add directly to the skillet along with 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Cook, stirring gently, until the pasta is coated and the asparagus is tender, 3-4 minutes season with salt and pepper. Stir in the parmesan and parsley; serve with more parmesan.

CAVATELLI WITH ASPARAGUS, LEMON AND FRESH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Place the woody stems from the asparagus in a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer the pureed asparagus to a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl. Let the juices drain, 5 to 10 minutes, pressing down lightly on the puree with a wooden spoon occasionally. Reserve the juice and discard the pulp.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the ricotta, Parmesan and 1 tablespoon lemon juice with some salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest and set aside.
• Once the water has boiled, add the cavatelli and cook according to the package instructions until al dente.
• Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic, then add the sliced asparagus and saute until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the cavatelli directly into the skillet with the asparagus. Add about half of the asparagus juice and allow to simmer for 1 minute. Add the remaining asparagus juice and the remaining tablespoon lemon juice and cook until the pasta is glossy, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with Pecorino-Romano, lemon zest, dollops of the whipped ricotta, basil and black pepper.

CAVATELLI PASTA WITH LOBSTER, SPRING PEAS, AND MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Cook lobsters (if necessary):
• In 10- to 12-quart pot, bring salted water to boil. Plunge in 2 lobsters headfirst, then boil, covered, 10 (for 1 1/4-pound lobsters) to 11 minutes (for 1 1/2-pound lobsters) from time they enter water. Transfer with tongs to sink to drain. Return water to boil, and cook remaining lobsters in same manner.
• When lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove meat from tails and claws. Discard or reserve for another use tomalley, any roe, and shells, and wipe off any coagulated white albumin from meat. Cut meat into 3/4-inch pieces and chill, covered, at least 1 hour.
• Make cavatelli:
• Bring large pot salted water to boil. Add cavatelli and boil until cavatelli float to surface, about 8 minutes. Drain, then immediately plunge cavatelli into ice water to stop cooking. Transfer to large bowl, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and toss to coat.
• In heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, peas, parsley, thyme, chives, pasta, Mascarpone, and lobster. Stir to combine, then simmer until lobster is heated through, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

CAVATELLI AND BROCCOLI OR ASPARAGUS (BUDDY VALASTRO)

Steps:

• Blanch broccoli or asparagus for 2 minutes, plunge in ice water.
• In same boiling water you cooked vegetables in, cook pasta.
• Heat oil in skillet, add garlic and cook til light brown.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add vegetables to the oil mixture.
• Add drained pasta to the oil/veg mixture.
• Toss to coat and grate fresh parmesan cheese over top.
• Can add a cooked and diced chicken breast.

CAVATELLI WITH BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Fill large pot or Dutch Oven half way full of water and add salt if desired. When water is boiling add pasta, stir often, and cook to al dente. Set aside one cup of pasta cooking water before draining. Do not rinse pasta.
• Wash and dry broccoli, trim and peel stems, cut into florets.
• Over medium heat in large skillet, brown and mash ground sausage into bite size pieces. Transfer sausage to a large serving bowl and add broccoli, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes to pan. Cook for approximately 3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown. Add chicken broth and cook another 3 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
• Add mixture to sausage that was set aside. Add reserved pasta cooking water as needed to add moisture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add grated cheese if desired.