Cavatelli al mischiglio (or cavatielle in dialect) is a classic pasta eaten mostly in central and southern Italy. Handmade from durum and soft wheat flours and just over one inch long, its hollowed-out shape soaks up sauce wonderfully. It's usually with tomato-based sauce but every now and then is accompanied by vegetables or meat. It's one of the oldest known pasta shapes and nicknamed "dragged" pasta because of the gesture made to shape it – they're hallowed out by dragging them with one or more fingers on a floured pastry board.
Mischiglio – a mix of flours
In southern Italy, the world mischiglio indicates that the dough comprises several types of flour – often barley and some legume flours are added to the classic durum wheat semolina. These flours are frequently used in the south to prepare soups and pastes. Lentils, chickpeas, and above all fava beans have always belonged to traditional southern Italian cuisine, all tenets of the Mediterranean diet.
The cavatelli is prepared by mixing dried legume flour with durum wheat, barley, and semolina flours. The pasta takes on a significantly wrinkled texture that's perfect for thick and full-bodied tomato-, meat-, and vegetable-based sauces.
Cavatelli al Mischiglio Recipe
Ingredients
For the pasta
4 oz. durum wheat semolina
4 oz. barley flour
4 oz. chickpea flour
4 oz. broad bean flour
a pinch of salt
water
For the topping
1 lb. 8 oz. cherry tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
8 bay leaves
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
Method
Mix the flours together and shape them into a well on a pastry board. Pour lukewarm water and a pinch of salt in the center and start kneading until the dough is soft, compact, and uniform. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, wash and clean the tomatoes. Drizzle a pan with oil and cook a garlic clove until golden-brown. When the garlic has taken on color, add the tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes.
Take the pasta, divide it into pieces, and taper them, making sticks one finger wide and just over an inch long. Hollow them out with two fingers and boil in a pot with plenty of boiling water and a pinch of salt – they'll cook in 5 to 7 minutes.
Drain the pasta, pour it into the pan with the tomato sauce, add the bay leaves, and let sit in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.