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Gnocchetti and Cavatelli from a Corn-and-Wheat Pasta
In the Abruzzo region of Italy, there is a pasta made with corn flour and refined wheat flour, usually tipo 00. I’ve been making it with fresh-milled corn flour and all purpose flour, and it’s quite delicious, with a slightly sweet corn flavor that pairs well with cheese, butter, olive oil, tomato sauce and probably much more.
I like this pasta best shaped as cavatelli, but traditionally it’s shaped like tiny gnocchi and served as part of a hearty tomato and chickpea soup. The pasta is called gnocchetti or ciccierchie — a play on the word ceci, or chickpea, as it’s the size of chickpeas. I learned about this pasta dough and soup from the Pasta Grannies cookbook, and you can also find the traditional gnocchetti soup recipe on their YouTube video. The book and YouTube channel profile the pasta recipes and techniques of older female home cooks in Italy — “grannies” — a sort of human version of the Ark of Taste or UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Corn and wheat pasta has more fiber and bite than all-refined-flour pastas, but it’s still chewy and easy to shape. Creating 50% whole grain flour pasta is actually one of my favorite aspects of making homemade pasta. I love the balance of flavor, nutrition, chewiness, and shapeability. I use the 50% whole grain Kamut dough in this Ravioli Recipe for everything from fettuccine to lasagna.
Corn flour, however, has no gluten as well as being whole meal, so it isn’t a good candidate for thin pastas needing elasticity e.g. noodles of any sort.
I love chickpeas and tomatoes, so at some point I plan to make the Abruzzian soup, but here I’m going to show you how to make this pasta dough into gnocchetti and cavatelli shapes, with an optional sourdough fermentation stage. Sourdough fermentation, of course, is not a traditional part of pasta, and cavatelli are usually made with semolina flour plus ricotta cheese sometimes, not corn flour. The grooves on the outside of cavatelli seem to be optional, but the key to the shape is the curled-cup.
Gnocchetti and cavatelli shaped corn-and-wheat pasta
For my first batch of pasta dough, I made the more simple gnocchetti and I served them with olive oil and grated pecorino romano cheese.
Gnocchetti with olive oil and pecorino romano cheese
This was very tasty, but I wanted a smoother bite-texture, the flavor and digestibility benefits of sourdough fermentation, and more surface area for sauce — the cavatelli shape.
Cavatelli with homemade marinara and parmesan cheese
So I put some sourdough starter in the second dough, and after I kneaded it, I let it rest (covered) on the counter most of the day. This hydrated the whole meal corn flour, further developed the gluten-chew beyond my somewhat low-key kneading, and likely broke down some of the starches in the dough as well.
Corn flour, all purpose flour, water, a pinch of salt, and sourdough starter
The recipe instructions below describe how to mix, roll and cut gnocchetti. Making ridged cavatelli involves a further step of pressing and sliding each pasta “nugget” down a garganelli and gnocchi stripper and paddle. Here is a video that shows how to efficiently cut the pasta and shape it into cavatelli. You should also check out the two photo galleries after the recipe, one for gnocchetti and one for cavatelli.
Gnocchetti & Cavatelli from a Corn-and-Wheat Pasta
This pasta dough is made from a mix of corn flour and all purpose flour. It's has a tasty mild sweetness and a hearty texture. It's traditionally eaten in a chickpea and tomato soup from the Abruzzo region of Italy, but here I'm serving it as a standalone pasta dish, shaped both as traditional gnocchetti and as cavatelli. I've also added the option of a sourdough fermentation to enhance digestibility and flavor.
Ingredients
Instructions
Gnocchetti Process Photo Gallery
Cavatelli Process Photo Gallery
Shopping List
All Purpose Flour
Tipo 00 Strong White Flour
Yellow Dent Corn
Sourdough Starter (Live)
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Ankarsrum Mixer and Universal Kitchen Appliance
Breadtopia’s Choice Kitchen Scale
$18.00JK Adams Wooden Patisserie Rolling Pin
$42.00Extra Long Bench Knife by Lamson — Walnut Handle
Eppicotispai Garganelli and Gnocchi Paddle
$6.00$4.50USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
$23.00Gnocchetti and Cavatelli from a Corn-and-Wheat Pasta