The recipe I use to make Grandma Minnillo’s cavatelli is adapted from the Cavatelli Maker machine’s instruction manual and my grandmother’s original recipe. I use a cup of mashed potatoes with butter, made fresh. My grandmother used instant mashed potatoes and margarine. I replace the ricotta in the machine’s recipe with mashed potatoes for my lactose intolerance family/friends. This recipe makes 454 grams (1 pound), but I always double for a 907 gram (2 pound) batch.
Ingredients
- •480 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting board
- •473 ml (2 cups) mashed potatoes*
- •113 grams (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
- •5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
*For classic cheese cavatelli, instead of potatoes use 237 ml (1 cup) ricotta cheese, 1 egg, and 59 ml (1/4 cup) milk.
Preparation
- Sift flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add all the other ingredients. Begin to press together and knead with your hands.
Remove dough from the bowl and knead* for 3 minutes on a lightly floured wooden board or table top. Cut dough in half, cover with a dampened dishtowel, and allow to rest for 45 minutes.
Roll the halves out into 1.27 cm (½ inch) thick disks. Dust with cornmeal and flour to prevent sticking when rolling through the machine. Cut lengths of “ links,” pinching the ends before inserting into the machine.
*A food processor is can be used to knead dough. But it’s not the way Grandma would do it.