SPINACH RICOTTA CAVATELLI WITH TOMATO SAUCE.

Spinach Ricotta Cavatelli With Tomato Sauce. image

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

Provided by dicentra

Categories European

Time 1h5m

Yield 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 17

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Ingredients

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
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

Steps:

Make the cavatelli: Put the ricotta, spinach, egg yolk and olive oil in a food processor and process to a paste.
Add the flour, semolina, salt and white pepper and process until the mixture comes together to form a ball.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pour 1/2 cup of the hot tomato sauce over each portion and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of the Parmesan cheese.