A delicious pairing of chewy, pillowy pasta; earthy, almost sweet walnuts; toasted garlic; slightly bitter greens; and crisp pancetta; punctuated with a creamy, bright tasting cheese.
I’m now officially in love with Homemade Ricotta Cavatelli Pasta and look forward to making each new batch. The leisurely rhythm of hand shaping the soft, supple dough is relaxing. And there’s a little thrill as the mound of beautifully grooved pasta grows. After all, this is homemade, handmade pasta, and it’s extraordinary.
Of course, you can buy prepackaged cavatelli pasta. The dish will still taste delicious. But with a little extra effort, you’ll have a meal fit for royalty.
To keep this from being an all-day adventure, make the cavatelli pasta a day or more in advance. It freezes well and is great to have on hand for impromptu dinners.
Note Recently, I taught my favorite 3-year-old, Miss Lillian, to shape ricotta cavatelli. She’s still talking about it. Get the kids involved. Shaping ricotta cavatelli is a great rainy afternoon activity. And, hey, you get to eat it when you’re finished.
Ricotta Cavatelli with Toasted Walnuts & Baby Greens
This is a delicious pairing of chewy, pillowy pasta; earthy, almost sweet walnuts; toasted garlic; slightly bitter greens; and crisp pancetta; punctuated with a creamy, bright tasting cheese.
Ingredient Note Five-ounce bags of baby power greens are available at Trader Joe’s. Baby spinach can be substituted if desired.
Ingredient Note Trader Joe’s sells nifty 4-ounce packages of cubed pancetta, which is the perfect amount for many dishes. I keep a couple extra in the freezer because running out of pancetta is not a trivial matter. Of course, you can usually substitute bacon, but the flavor is quite different.
12 ounces fresh ricotta cavatelli (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon fine sea salt (for pasta water)
¼ cup cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped pancetta (2 ounces)
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup whole walnuts, coarsely chopped (3½ ounces)
2 large handfuls baby power greens, stems removed (baby spinach, baby kale, baby chard) (3-4 ounces)
fine sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Garnish
soft, crumbled feta or goat cheese
- Fill a large pasta or soup pot with four quarts cold water and add 1 tablespoon fine salt. Cover and bring to a rolling boil.
- Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the olive oil; and add the pancetta, garlic, and walnuts. With a metal spatula, turn often as the pancetta begins to crisp and the garlic and walnuts begin to toast. Add the greens, toss a few times, until they just begin to wilt, and then remove from the heat (but keep warm).
- When pasta water is boiling rapidly, add cavatelli. After cavatelli float to the top of the water, boil for 2 minutes.
- Scoop cavatelli from the water with a sieve and add to the sauté pan, along with ½ cup of the hot pasta water.
- Return pan to the heat, and saute for a minute or so, tossing the cavatelli to mix with the other ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Scoop the cavatelli onto a serving platter or into individual wide-rimmed pasta bowls, and garnish with the feta or goat cheese if using.
- Serve immediately.
Serves 2-3.
More Fabulous Pasta, Gnocchi & Spaetzle Recipes from LunaCafe
- Homemade Ricotta Cavatelli Pasta
- LunaCafe OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese
- Old World Spaetzle: The New Pasta?
- Pasta Carbonara Perfecta Mundo
- Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi with Garlic Sage Butter
- Spinach & Egg Fettuccini with Wild Mushrooms & Pancetta (Straw & Hay)
- Strozzapreti Pasta with Fava Bean Greens Pesto, Spicy Italian Sausage & Toasted Walnuts
- Strozzapreti Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Broccolini & Garlic Crema
- Spaetzle, Wild Mushrooms & Broccoli Rabb with Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
- World Famous Green Chile Mac & Cheese
Cookin’ with Gas (inspiration from around the web)
- Bake It After All: Baked Ricotta Cavatelli in a Mascarpone Cheese Sauce
- From Away: Handmade Ricotta Cavatelli with Pepperoni Tomato Sauce
- Lidia’s Italy: Fresh Cavatelli with Favas
- Scrape the Bowl: Cavatelli with Sausage & Sage Browned Butter
- The Bona Fide Farm Food Journal: Chicken, Basil & Tomato Sausage with Cavatelli
- The Garum Factory: Burnt Wheat Cavatelli with Tomato-Eggplant Sauce and Ricotta Salata
- Wild Greens & Sardines: Homemade Ricotta Cavatelli with Asparagus, Pea Tendrils and Miso-Lemon Dressing
Copyright 2013 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
I’ve never had cavatelli pasta before but you sold me. This looks fabulous!
Thanks, Des! It’s one of my favorite pastas. 🙂
This looks amazing and I feel like I need to try it soon! It definitely looks like something my family would enjoy! I love cavatelli but I have never made my own!
This dish is brimming with gorgeous flavors and so easy to make. Perfect for summer! This vibrant and colorful pasta would be a winner at any party or occasion!
Great pictures! I have never purchased cavatelli before, what a fun pasta shape.
we went out to dinner tonight and I am full… but I look at this recipe and all of a sudden I am starving again! It looks so good.
This looks amazing! Great idea to get kids involved to help make the cavatelli!
I know what pancetta you’re talking about from Trader Joe’s. Got one saved in my freezer, so I might have to make this. Looks delicious!
Ricotta and pancetta?! Yes please! This looks so good, I can smell the kitchen now!
LOL – not having pancetta on hand is no trivial matter – I agree! I will have to pick me up some spares for the freezer. This looks like a nice springtime dish and a great way to get my greens on (and have pasta too).
Barbara, thank you! I’m probably overly dependent on pancetta, but it’s such a nice little flavor pop. 🙂
There is absolutely nothing I don’t love about this dish. Pinned to make soon.
“running out of pancetta is not a trivial matter” is a quote for the ages.
WOW, this looks insanely good! Love all the flavors, and I bet that homemade pasta is incredible. I’ve only done flat sorts of noodles, never anything with a cool shape…such a neat project! 🙂
Sarah, thank you! caveaelli is actually quite easy to make.
I can taste this just looking at it. I love these flavors together. We don’t have a Trader Joes, but I do have some spinach coming up in the garden. I like the idea of making pasta with my daughters. I will have to consider getting a pasta machine.
Katie, cooking with your girls, if they’re interested, is a memory maker. I cherish the memories of times in the kitchen with my mom and grandmothers.
You MADE those cavatelli?! I am SO SO SO impressed! This whole meal looks so delicious.
Joanne, thanks so much. The cavatelli are so easy and fun to make. Yours will look even better. 🙂
Oh boy, now you’re talking! I love pasta with greens and walnuts and all your flavours look wonderful. I’ve never seen that kind of pasta before, it reminds me of gnocchi a bit, I’d love to try some.
Emma, thank you! Yes, they are a bit like ricotta gnocchi only CHEWY, which is my favorite texture. You’re going to love this dish, so delicious. Now I’m running over to check out your Kung Pao Chicken…