Recipe: Cavatielli pasta with broad bean purée and crispy breadcrumbs

2017-05-22 Today we’re cooking something rather special. We’re using cavatielli pasta, also known as “cavatelli” or capunti”. While it’s less famous than orecchiette, it boasts a similarly long and glorious tradition.
Typically associated with two particular regions, Molise and Puglia, these small gnocchi are in fact popular all over southern Italy. Usually made by hand from a simple mixture of durum wheat semolina, warm water and a pinch of salt, they are elongated in shape with a hollow in the middle. This inviting type of pasta holds on to any type of sauce – meat, fish or vegetable.
Legend has it that cavatielli were invented in the first half of the thirteenth century, during the reign of Frederick II of Sweden. He is said to have adored the pasta, particularly when accompanied by a broad bean sauce – just the recipe we have for you today.
Here are the ingredients for four people: cavatielli pugliesi (300 g), fresh or frozen broad beans (500 g), onion (100 g), stale bread (100 g), extra virgin olive oil (50 ml), vegetable stock (1.5 l) and salt (to taste).
The recipe takes an hour to make (50 min. preparation plus 9-10 min. cooking time).
Here’s how to make it: Peel and chop the onion, then soften in a pan with a third of the extra virgin olive oil needed for the recipe. Add the beans (previously blanched and peeled), fry for a few minutes, then cover with the hot stock. Add salt to taste, then cook the beans for around half an hour. Once they are cooked, blend the beans to make a thick purée.
Next, crumble up the bread (without the crusts) and toast in a frying pan with the remaining oil until it is crispy.
Meanwhile cook the cavatielli in plenty of salted water; drain while still “al dente” and add to the purée. Serve the pasta with the fried breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

Mariagrazia Villa

Recipe: Chef Mario Grazia (Academia Barilla).
Source: Academia Barilla (ed.), Pasta. 50 Ricette Facili, Edizioni White Star, Novara, 2012.