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Sweet Potato-Ricotta Cavatelli with White Wine Braised Chicken Sauce

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Did someone say, Sweet Potato-Ricotta Cavatelli?

White Wine Demi-Glace Rabbit with Sweet Potato Cavatelli

White Wine Demi-Glace Rabbit with Sweet Potato Cavatelli

Yes, yes, that someone is ME! Something in my being simply calls me to make pasta and to make it often, in fact, to make it as often as possible.

A BIG obsession for me is ricotta cavatelli, its texture and shape just work with my taste buds….now go and mix it up with some seasonal yummies and it easily becomes the perfect food in my world, easily.

Ricotta Cavatelli was a staple when I was growing up. My Nonna would make it at least every Sunday and sometimes during the week if any of us did something extraordinary or just asked (isn’t that how it works with grandbabies?). I’m thinking the latter happened much more often than the former….

Now back to the cavatelli story. For her, she kept the sauces simple, Bolognese or butter, it just didn’t get much fancier than that and it didn’t need to. Honestly, any pasta she made was sensational and frankly, I ate more of it raw than anything (which completely made her crazy but secretly, she really loved it).

Nonna always started with making the ricotta, I am sure it had a lot to do with hovering grandkids waiting impatiently to be fed and acting completely starved to death…..Solution? Easy, triple the batch, make crostini, and let us go to town (and out from under her feet, literally) so she could crank out her cavatelli treasures.

I loved that the air was always filled with fresh cheese and the aroma of her infamous Bolognese sauce, which conveniently simmered all day and comatosed us while we waited for the feast of deliciousness!

Finally, I was old enough to make pasta in my own house and when I first branched out from the traditional and into the “variations”, I was sure I would need a pasta confessional and ask my Nonna for continuous forgiveness but, when I was able to create one I knew she would approve of, I felt redeemed!

I never got the opportunity to make her my sweet potato – ricotta cavatelli but the memory of those days comes to me every time I venture out and make them or any variation……and I never forget to start with the ricotta and crostini…….here’s to you Nonna….

Sweet-Potato-Cavatelli

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 Sweet Potato-Ricotta Cavatelli with White Wine Braised Chicken Sauce
This recipe was inspired by my love for ricotta cavatelli. Cavatelli are similar to gnocchi but a bit smaller in size. This recipe birthed from my love of sweet potatoes and ricotta cheese!
White Wine Demi-Glace Rabbit with Sweet Potato Cavatelli
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Cavatelli
Fresh Ricotta
White Wine Braised Chicken Sauce
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Cavatelli
Fresh Ricotta
White Wine Braised Chicken Sauce
White Wine Demi-Glace Rabbit with Sweet Potato Cavatelli
Instructions
Sweet Potato Cavatelli
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Pearce sweet potatoes all over and place on a baking sheet. Cook for 30-40 min or until soft. Pull out of oven and peel and pass through a food mill or ricer into a bowl. Cool completely.
  2. Combine cooled sweet potatoes, ricotta, egg, and salt
  3. Place flour on kneading board. Make a well and add the above ingredients. Mix to combine
  4. Keep kneading until the dough comes together and has a smooth consistency. If sticky, add some flour. Don't over knead dough or it will become too tough.
  5. Cut off a small chunk and roll it into a rope about ½″ thick.
  6. Roll rope in some flour before cutting in 1 inch pieces. With a gnocchi board, start at the top and press each piece to make and indentation and then roll down the board. (If you want, you can go one step easier and forget the gnocchi board, just roll out some dough into a ½ inch thick rope, indent a line down the middle and cut in 1 inch segments).
  7. Toss with flour and put on cookie sheets. Apply more flour if they are a bit "sticky". Let rest and dry about 2 hours.
Fresh Ricotta
  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients and let come to a light boil. Cook for 15 minutes as the liquid and solid separate. Remove from heat and pour into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and let drain until all liquid is gone.
White Wine Braised Chicken Sauce
  1. Season the chicken legs on both sides with salt and pepper and in a very large saute pan on high heat with olive oil sear them until they are brown on all sides.
  2. Once they are brown remove them from the pan and place in a cassoulet baking dish.
  3. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic into the hot pan where the chicken legs were and caramelize.
  4. Once they are brown, add in the flour
  5. Next, pour in the wine and reduce it by ½, then add in the the rand chicken stock and cook for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Pour the entire mixture into the dish with the legs and add the thyme bundle and bake on 300° for 2-3 hours.
  7. After they are cooked, remove the chicken and strain the sauce into a pot and cook until it is reduced by ½ and keep warm. Shred chicken and put back into sauce.
  8. In a bowl combined the chopped herbs and set aside.
  9. Cook pasta in large pot with salted water for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce, herbs, and pasta water, if needed. Top with parmigano reggiano and serve immediately.
  10. Buon Appetito!
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Sweet Potato Cavatelli with Sausage, Pancetta, Fried Sage, and Sautéed Wild Mushrooms

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IMG_5244Making anything from scratch dough simply makes me happy….period. I ADORE getting my hands in the mixture and working it from start to finish, such a satisfaction when serving the dish. I think the only thing that could make me happier would be to grow my own wheat and mill it into flour and raise my own chickens for the eggs. Second best is what I have, a wheat grower who I know, love, and trust and local chickens from a rockin farm. I’m thrilled with both….

It’s winter and time for those extra cozy, comforts of home kinda foods. For me, pasta is ALWAYS at the top of my go to list. I don’t care if it is stuffed pasta, gnocchi, long pasta, short pasta, lasagna or anything in between, these are all my comfort fare and I love to make them as much as eat them, my passion is totally equal.

Obviously, this love affair comes from my Italian heritage but there is something deeper that drives me as well, something deep in my soul that just isn’t complete or content like when I make pasta. Some might say a past life, others just a passion, but to me, I think I was born an “impastatrice”, or a pasta maker.

Some people are born actors or actresses, singers or songwriters and me, I was born a pasta maker.

This recipe was inspired by my love for ricotta cavatelli. Cavatelli are similar to gnocchi but a bit smaller in size. I adore sweet potato gnocchi and so as I thought of a recipe encompassing both sweet potato and ricotta topped with a sauce consisting of sausage, sage, pancetta, and wild mushrooms. My beloved cavatelli came to mind and from here birthed my version of sweet potato cavatelli with sausage, pancetta, fried sage, and sautéed wild mushrooms. Now that’s comfort food on steroids!

To make cavatelli, you don’t need a cavatelli maker, in fact they can be moody if the dough isn’t just perfect in both texture and size so, I whip out my gnocchi board and crank out some handmade cavatelli in half the time. If you want, you can go one step easier and forget the gnocchi board, just roll out some dough into a ½ inch thick rope, indent a line down the middle and cut in 1 inch segments, this is a perfect alteration.

Honestly, you don’t need a cold winters day to treat yourself to cavatelli….just some great Italian music, a delicious Italian wine, and friends to share it with and this will do the trick on any day.

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Sweet Potato Cavatelli with Sausage, Pancetta, Fried Sage, and Sautéed Wild Mushrooms
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This recipe was inspired by my love for ricotta cavatelli. Cavatelli are similar to gnocchi but a bit smaller in size. This recipe birthed from my love of sweet potatoes and ricotta cheese! Feel free to change up the sauce to fit your culinary desires!
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
  • For Cavatelli:
  • 2-3 sweet potatoes - 1.5 cups puree
  • 4.5 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • ½ lb fresh ricotta, preferably homemade
  • 1 Tsp salt
  • For Sauce:
  • 2 lbs of pork sausage
  • 6 ounces of pancetta, diced
  • 8 ounces of wild mushrooms, shitake, baby bella, porcini, or whatever you enjoy
  • 15 sage leaves
  • truffle oil for frying
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T butter
  • chicken broth
  • salt and pepper
  • parmigiano-reggiano for serving
  • For Ricotta:
  • 3 cups organic whole milk
  • 1 cup organic heavy cream
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1½ T organic white wine vinegar
Instructions
  1. For the Cavatelli:
  2. Preheat oven to 350. Pearce sweet potatoes all over and place on a baking sheet. Cook for 30-40 min or until soft. Pull out of oven and peel and pass through a food mill or ricer into a bowl. Cool completely.
  3. Combine cooled sweet potatoes, ricotta, egg, and salt
  4. Place flour on kneading board. Make a well and add the above ingredients. Mix to combine
  5. Keep kneading until the dough comes together and has a smooth consistency. If sticky, add some flour. Don't over knead dough or it will become too tough.
  6. Cut off a small chunck and roll it into a rope about ½″ thick.
  7. Roll rope in some flour before cutting in 1 inch pieces. With a gnocchi board, start at the top and press each piece to make and indentation and then roll down the board. (If you want, you can go one step easier and forget the gnocchi board, just roll out some dough into a ½ inch thick rope, indent a line down the middle and cut in 1 inch segments).
  8. Toss with flour and put on cookie sheets. Apply more flour if they are a bit "sticky". Let rest and dry about 2 hours.
  9. For Ricotta:
  10. In a saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients and let come to a light boil. Cook for 15 minutes as the liquid and solid separate. Remove from heat and pour into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and let drain until all liquid is gone.
  11. For Sage Leaves:
  12. In a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, add truffle oil until bottom is covered and heat. Drop in 5-6 sage leaves and fry until stiff. Remove and place on plate lined with a paper bowl. Cook remaining leaves.
  13. For sauce:
  14. In a saucepan over medium heat, add sausage. Break up sausage while cooking and salt and pepper. Once done, remove with slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel.
  15. Add butter and oil to pan and let melt. Add pancetta and mushrooms and cook until pancetta is done and mushrooms are soft. Add chicken broth if necessary for more liquid. Add back the sausage and stir to combine. Season if necessary. Add some chicken broth to create more of a sauce consistency. Reduce heat and cover.
  16. To Cook Cavatelli:
  17. In a large stockpot over medium heat, boil water and add salt. Make water as "salty as the sea", this flavors the pasta.
  18. Drop them in the water, careful not to overcrowd (cook in 2 batches, if needed). Cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente.
  19. Scoop cavatelli out with a mesh spoon into serving bowl and top with sauce. Finish with parmigiano-reggiano cheese and serve immediately.
  20. Note: You can also refrigerate or freeze them. To cook them frozen, add about 5 minutes to your cooking time.

 

Beef Oxtail and Short Rib Soup with Root Vegetables and Barley

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IMG_5470

Oh the memories are pouring in! I completely ADORE homemade beef oxtail and short rib soup. It is SUCH a soul-filled meal for me and during these cold months, I CRAVE it!!

My grandmother, Mau (that’s what we called her), ALWAYS had a pot of her oxtail soup cooking on the stove every Sunday. Back then, I didn’t understand why she started this soup at 10 am but now as I have perfected it over the years, if you plan on eating it the same day, you have to start it early……the broth needs to build for AT LEAST 5 hours and there is a great deal of time spent skimming the foam off the top to get that clear, yummy broth.

THE SMELL of that soup cooking all day is permanently LOCKED into my senses! It filled the air with all the root veggies and barley she added in. It didn’t hurt that she had a homemade loaf of bread baking at the same time…what a coincidence….oh the simple things!!!!

We went over every Sunday, about 5, and my grandpa was always lounging in his recliner chair, watching some silly TV show, I think probably Archie Bunker, but we RAN through the front door and straight to the kitchen and up to the stove where that old pot was stock full of this soup! Like a bunch of hungry cats, we pounced to the table and sat, acting so ravished as if we hadn’t eaten in 3 days….she complained how we were driving her a bit crazy but looking back, she couldn’t have gotten a better complement and she knew it, but she still had to fret.

I have a copy of her handwritten recipe but I think on purpose she left a few things off, mostly the “secret” of cooking the oxtails and short ribs for hours. There is just some scribbles about veggies and a few instructions but I treasure that recipe and have called on her to fill me with the cooking tricks only she knew. I think after several years, I got it, finally.

So here’s to you Mau, I think you would be proud.

Beef Oxtail and Short Rib Soup with Root Vegetables and Barley
 
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This is sincerely my favorite soup of ALL time! I promise it is worth the time to leave it simmer to create that delicious broth.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs of beef oxtails
  • 2 lbs of beef short ribs, ask butcher to cut in half
  • 2 lbs of beef stew meat
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 6 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 6 celery stocks, peeled and sliced
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 1 celery root, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 2 rutabagas, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 2 turnips, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed, ½ inch
  • 3 bay leaves
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add about 2 T olive oil. In batches sear the oxtail until browned on all sides, remove and put on plate. Repeat with short ribs. Salt and pepper during searing.
  2. Add another 2 T olive oil and add beef stew meat. Sear and season with salt and pepper, remove and put on plate.
  3. Add another 2 T olive oil and add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots, Season with salt and pepper and cook until just getting soft. Add back ALL meats and bay leaves and fill pot with water about ⅔ full. Turn up to get to a rolling boil and put on cover (but leave a crack so that water doesn't boil over). Simmer for 5-6 hours skimming top of foam frequently.
  4. About 45 minutes before wanting to eat, cook barley as per directions
  5. About 30 minutes before wanting to eat, add in all the root vegetables and simmer until just soft. Taste broth and add salt and pepper if needed.
  6. Spoon in a little barley into bottom of bowl and top with soup. Serve immediately with homemade bread!
  7. *This makes a lot of soup so can cut down recipe but we LOVE leftovers and gets better with time! Can freeze but just don't add barley to soup as it will thicken it.