Homemade Cavatelli Pasta (Three Ingredients Only)

Wonder where I got the urge deciding to make cavatelli pasta from scratch? It's not hard, but can be quite strenuous, especially I was making pasta for like four servings. There's no cavatelli board too to roll up the pasta against the ridges, but so what? I got forks at home, even though they're not as handy as the designated board, but a simple fork can still get the tricks done.

Homemade cavatelli pasta -

Ingredients (about 4 servings)?

• 2 cups semolina flour plus extra for dusting
• 3/4 to 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

How?

Make sure you have enough working space to knead the dough, also just in case the flour might spread out occasionally. From there, arrange the semolina flour like a little mountain and make a well in the center. Add the salt to the center too.

Gradually pouring some warm water to the center. The liquid shouldn't flow out because we made a well to begin with. Use finger tips to stir together the water and the flour. Continue to do so and stop with 3/4 cup of water.

Try to knead the flour into a ball. If the dough can't stick together nicely after a few minutes, add a little more water. Usually 3/4 cup of water will do, but this time I used 1 full cup instead.

Knead the flour into a smooth ball, it took me about 10 minutes by hand. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with cling foil. Let it rest under room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Dust the working surface with some extra semolina flour to prevent sticking. Once ready, pinch some dough out and roll into a long log, just a bit thinner than the pinky finger. While doing so, keep the remaining dough covered.

Cut the thin log to about half inch sections to begin with. As you start rolling them into cavatelli pasta, you'll get a feeling of which length works best for you. Adjust accordingly.

Use index finger and middle finger to press down the dough against the ridges of the fork, or simply use a cavatelli board. While pressing it down, don't do it too hard and break the dough, just enough force to get the pattern.

So press and either roll out or moving towards yourself to make the dough curl up. It can take many tries before the shape starts to really look like a cavatelli pasta. Don't worry and don't get too disappointed, we've got a big ball of dough to practice with. And once you cook them with pasta sauce, it's harder to notice if the shape wasn't perfect.

After reshaping all the dough, you can simply cook it like fresh pasta, or lay them out in single layer and transfer to the freezer to firm up. Once making sure the pasta won't stick to one another, gather them into a container or Ziploc and store in the freezer.

So was it worth the time making pasta from scratch? Yeah, why not? I guess once in a blue moon is fine. After all, kneading can be quite therapeutic with soft music playing in the background and  the smell of coffee luring aside. 

Colorful Julienned King Oyster Mushroom Cold Dish in Asian Sauce

Making food for others is quite different from cooking for myself, is that the case for you too? For instance, I might source even better ingredients and use heavier seasonings for others. However, if me or mister are the only ones eating the food, usually I'll go for the more economical options with lighter perhaps healthier flavors.

That's the same case for this julienned veggies cold dish. Chopping vegetables can be quite a hassle sometimes, one time I was making this same recipe for my mother-in-law, so I paid extra attention and made sure all things were sliced to perfection. I got lazy afterwards, so the leftover ingredients were chopped like double the thickness instead. Not as pretty looking, but saved a lot of prep work for sure.

However, I do sincerely suggest you to nicely julienne the veggies because once mixed with the seasonings, that's how you get the most sauce clinging onto the ingredients. The sauce to solid goods ratio is higher that way, which will result in fuller flavor impact.

Colorful julienned king oyster mushroom cold dish in Asian sauce -  

Ingredients?

• 100 grams king oyster mushroom
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1/2 small yellow bell pepper
• 1 to 2 skinny cucumber
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons triple condensed Japanese tsuyu
• 2 tablespoons black vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce with oil
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in whole king oyster mushroom and cook for about 10 minutes. Once ready, drain and wait till able to handle by hand, then peel into long thin strips. 

Prepping king oyster mushroom is the most demanding step, you have to do it by hand, not cutting the mushroom with a knife. The texture of hand-peeled king oyster mushroom is very different from the hard-edged cutting version, and that's what make or break this recipe too.

Once done, transfer hand-processed mushroom strips to a big mixing container.

No need to peel the cucumbers. Simply remove the tips of the skinny cucumbers and julienne them. Remove the stems from the colorful bell peppers then discard the seeds. Julienne the bell peppers. Transfer these ingredients to the mixing container.

Take a bowl or a jar, add in all the ingredients under the "sauce" section and give it a good mix. Taste and adjust accordingly. 

Pour the sauce to the big mixing container and blend till evenly distributed. Taste and adjust again just to be safe, especially some might like it with more vinegar and some prefer a sweeter taste.

Lastly, add in some toasted white sesame seeds and mix till blended again. 

Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes then serve cold.

You can also grate some garlic or add a bit of Sichuan peppercorn oil for a stronger taste. However, I'd like to keep it simple and on a refreshing side, simple chili oil will do. On top of that, it's a vegetarian recipe to begin with, but if meat is ok, adding some cooked shredded chicken works really well here.

  

Other cold dish recipes:

• Shiso tomato okra and chicken cold dish
• Japanese cold dish using satsuma age and konjac
• Bean sprouts cold dish with spicy fermented bean paste 涼拌豆芽