Welcome in spring with this seasonal pasta that’s packed with honeycomb-like morel mushrooms, ramps and asparagus. With a short but mighty ingredient list, chef Dan Bazzinotti of Kenmore Square’s Pescador creates depth in his dish through grilling, glazing and sautéing his ingredients to bring out each of their unique flavors. If making your own cavatelli feels like too much work, Bazzinotti suggests using a store-bought dry pasta like farfalle.
Cavatelli with Morels & Grilled Asparagus
Ingredients
for the dough
- 1 cup dark rye flour
- 1 cup 00 (pasta flour)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 whole eggs
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/2 pound morel mushrooms, cleaned
- 5 ramps, chopped
- 1 bunch asparagus, grilled and chopped
- 1 lemon (for juice)
- 1/4 pound piave blue label cheese
Directions
for the dough
- Mix dry ingredients, then slowly stream in warm water and tempered eggs.
- Mix 10-15 minutes until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.
- Next, cut 4 ounce piece of dough and roll out to 1/4 inch thick cut strips, then dice these strips into 1/2 inch cubes of dough.
- Now you will be rolling them down the cavatelli board to get that classic shape!!! YouTube can teach you. (Editor's note: you can roll them on a board or by hand).
- Cook the pasta in boiling water for 3 minutes.
- In a warm sauté pan add butter, morels and ramps with a pinch of salt and let sauté until slightly wilted.
- Next add in grilled asparagus. Now add a splash of pasta water and let reduce by 1/2.
- Now that you have your glazed vegetables, add your pasta into the mixture and toss, let it cook in the pan for 1-2 minutes.
- Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
- Pour onto a large serving dish and top with grated piave cheese.
