Spinach Ricotta Cavatelli With Tomato Sauce.

Submitted by dicentra

"Food & Wine. You can use gnocchi in place of the cavatelli. The uncooked cavatelli can be frozen for up to 1 month."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• SAUCE

• 1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomato (not packed in oil)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 lbs plum tomatoes, cored and quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh basil
• 1⁄2 cup chicken broth
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

• CAVATELLI

• 1 1⁄4 cups low-fat ricotta cheese (12 ounces)
• 1⁄4 cup thawed frozen spinach, squeezed dry and chopped
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

directions

1. Make the cavatelli: Put the ricotta, spinach, egg yolk and olive oil in a food processor and process to a paste.
2. Add the flour, semolina, salt and white pepper and process until the mixture comes together to form a ball.
3. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
5. Make the sauce: Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with hot water and let soak until plumped, about 25 minutes. Drain well and coarsely chop, then transfer to a mini-processor and puree.
6. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the fresh tomatoes and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the tomatoes release their juices, about 3 minutes.
7. Add the basil and Chicken Stock, cover and simmer over low heat until the tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes. Strain the sauce, pressing on the tomatoes to extract as much sauce as possible. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper.
8. Cut the cavatelli dough into 10 equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, using both hands, roll out each piece of dough into a 1/2 -inch-thick rope.
9. With a fork, cut the rope into 1/2 -inch pieces. Press the side of the fork lengthwise into the center of each piece. Set the cavatelli on a lightly floured baking sheet.
10. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the cavatelli in batches, stirring, until they rise to the surface, about 4 minutes. Drain the cavatelli and divide them among 8 shallow bowls.
11. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot tomato sauce over each portion and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of the Parmesan cheese.