Cavatelli
Also known as: cavatieddi
Small elongated pasta with a hollow, shaped by hand from re-milled durum wheat semolina and water; listed among Italy's traditional food products.
According to the Campania regional sheet for traditional food products (PAT), cavatelli are a fresh pasta prepared by hand from re-milled durum wheat semolina (ancient grains such as Senatore Cappelli, Risciola and Gentil rosso are also used) and water. They are more or less elongated with a cavity inside, pale yellow to ochre in colour, with a firm, elastic texture. There are four formats: one, two, three or four fingers.
The semolina and water dough is kneaded on a wooden table for 5–10 minutes, rolled out and cut into long, thin strips, which are rolled by hand into round cords. The cords are cut into pieces of about 1 to 4 cm, and each piece is hollowed out (“cavato”) with the fingers. The cavatelli are then dried on the table or in dryers and sold as they are or packed in a protective atmosphere.
The Campania description says the one- and two-finger formats are widely used for soups, while the larger ones are preferred with ragù. In the national list of traditional food products (decree of 14 July 2017), cavatelli appear under Molise (“Cavatelli o Cecatelli”) and under Puglia.
Facts
| Raw material | Re-milled durum wheat semolina and water |
|---|---|
| Region | Campania, Molise, Puglia (traditional food products list) |
| Main use | Small formats for soups, larger ones with ragù |
What it includes
How it connects to Pasta
Cavatelli → related → 🫒 Olive oil ← related ← 🍝 Pasta
Links
- What it contains
- Semolina, 🌾 Durum wheat
- Part of
- Fresh pasta, Dry durum wheat pasta
- Similar and different
- Capunti, Orecchiette, Malloreddus, Divella Il valore della tradizione, Granoro Dedicato Formati Classici, Divella Pasta fresca, Faella Linea Premium, Pastai Gnocchi e Paste Corte, D'Aniello Formati Regionali, Divella Pasta di semola, Granoro Dedicato Grano Arso
- In other topics
- 🫒 Olive oil, 🧀 Pecorino
Frequently asked questions
What are cavatelli?
According to the Campania regional description, cavatelli are a fresh pasta shaped by hand from re-milled durum wheat semolina and water, elongated and hollowed inside.
What sizes are there?
Four: one, two, three or four fingers, depending on whether the dough pieces are cut about 1, 2, 3 or 4 cm long.
What are cavatelli served with?
According to the Campania description, the small formats (one and two fingers) are used for soups, and the larger ones are preferred with ragù.
What to read next
- Capunti — Fresh pasta from Apulia and Basilicata made of semolina and water: elongated grooved pieces 4–6 cm long that look like an open pea pod.
- 🌾 Durum wheat — A wheat species with very hard grain and strong gluten, milled into semolina for dry pasta and couscous.
- Divella Il valore della tradizione — Divella range of regional dry pasta shapes made from durum wheat semolina and water and slowly dried on frames at low temperature.
- 🫒 Olive oil — Oil pressed from the fruit of the olive tree.
- 🧀 Pecorino — Italian sheep’s milk cheeses, from mild and young to hard and salty; the best known is Pecorino Romano.
Similar
Capunti · Busiate · Fileja · Orecchiette · Trofie · Malloreddus
Sources
- Regione Campania — Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali: Cavatelli (scheda PAT)
- Decreto MiPAAF 14 luglio 2017, elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (G.U. S.O. n. 41, 29-7-2017): Cavatelli o Cecatelli (Molise), Cavatelli (Puglia)