Cavatelli: Part II
So what to do with a glut of homemade cavatelli? Why this, of course. Fresh veggies, even fresher pasta, and a shower of parmigiano? Sign me up. (Okay, so some of the veggies were frozen. Sue me.) While I made a few swap-outs (cavatelli for the gnocchi, for one) and altogether omissions, and my pan was a little too hot, it still turned out darn tasty, if I do say so myself.
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I started out toasting the fresh cavatelli in a bit of olive oil. Like I said, I think was pan was a little too hot, as they browned pretty quickly, and ended up being a little doughy in the middle. A not-so-hot pan and not-so-plump pasta would worked out better, I think. I set the pasta aside, added a bit more oil, and added a few sliced creminis (I unfortunately didn’t have chanterelles on hand). I was intending on subbing frozen green beens for the fresh shell, but forgot I used them up last week. My mushrooms quickly browning, and rummage through the veg drawer of the fridge and dug up some eensey-weensey brussel sprouts I had forgotten I bought last week. I sliced off the ends, and very quickly chopped up a few and added them alongside the mushrooms. (Ironically enough, I had actually bought the sprouts for the meal I ended up using the green beans for.) After a quick tossy-toss went halved grape tomatoes, a handful of frozen peas, and the thyme. Oh and salt and pepper. I was fully intending on tossing some pinenuts in to toast up in the pan, but things were getting very brown very rapidly. So no pinenuts. The pasta was added back to the pan, tossed again, then dumped into two awaiting bowls, topped with a flurry of cheese.
Verdict? Deeee-lite-ful. Two thumbs up. (Both mine and Parker’s.) Those brussel sprouts? A Really Good Idea. And even though the pasta wasn’t quite done, and the sprout shreds a little over done, the flavors were fantastic. I will for sure be repeating this, though more likely with penne or something of the like. So, why exactly don’t you have your pan preheating…?
Try this. I know, who makes pasta dough with Miso? Me, because I’m just that bad ass.
Miso Pasta Dough
4 cups of flour
6 tablespoons light miso
16 ounces of cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
Combine in a food processor and pulse to blend. Once a rough dough has formed, turn it out onto the counter and knead by hand to form a cohesive mass.
Or combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead by hand. Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto the counter to finish kneading.
Wrap with plastic and let rest for an hour at room temperature before forming pasta.