Sicilian Baked Lolli or Cavatelli
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caMarrying a Sicilian meant that Sicilian Baked Lolli were on the table every Christmas. A labor of love combined with tangy tomato sauce, chunks of meat and a touch of broccoli.If you like baked pasta, then you will love my recipe for rigatoni al forno and riso al forno.
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Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic sliced and crushed
- 12 oz italian sausage cut into medium size pieces
- 12 oz beef or veal stewing meat cut into chunks
- 24 oz tomato passata or tomato puree
- 3 basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Lolli
- 3.5 cups all purpose flour or semolina flour
- 1.5 cups water warm to touch
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour for rolling and dusting
- 1 lb broccoli cut, steamed, boiled or sautéed
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- In a large skillet, on medium heat, sauté garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Season meat with salt and pepper and add meat to skillet. Sear on both sides. (meat does not need to be fully cooked).
- Add tomato passata and basil leaves. Bring to boil and then simmer covered on low heat for about 45-60 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Set aside until you are ready to use sauce.
Lolli Pasta
- Place 3 cups of flour in a bowl or on the counter and make a well in the center. Pour half of the water and olive oil into the well. Working from the centre, use your fingers or a spatula to gently pull in a little bit of the flour at a time. Continue to add more flour until you get a a sticky but workable dough. Don't over mix the dough otherwise it will become gummy and dense. You want a dough you can work with that is soft but you can handle.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface using ½ cup of flour. Knead the dough incorporating the flour on the surface to avoid it sticking to your hands. Once you are able to roll the dough into a ball, let it rest covered with a bowl on the counter for about 30 minutes.
- Place a little bit more flour on the surface and some on the dough and roll out with a rolling pin to about ¾" thick. Cut a long strip from the dough about ¾" wide and as long as you want. A dough scraper comes in handy to lift the dough from the surface. Keep any unused dough covered with plastic wrap so that it does not dry out.
- Using a knife cut ¾" x ½" pieces from the long strip. Sprinkle flour on top and take each small piece and roll it between the palms of your hands thinning it out on the sides. You'll need approximately another 1 cup of flour for dusting and rolling.
- Place lolli or cavetelli on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel that is dusted generously with flour.
- Continue the process of making the lolli until all the dough is finished. I usually cover the dough with plastic wrap as I'm rolling so that the dough doesn't dry out. Once finished making the lolli you can leave them on the counter to dry out or place them in the fridge lightly covered until you are ready to use them.
Assembly
- Prepare a baking dish with some of the meat sauce placed on the bottom.
- In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil and boil the lolli for about 2 to 3 minutes. until they start to rise and move with the water. Don't forget to salt water. Using a spider strainer scoop lolli out of the pot into a baking dish a little at a time adding more sauce and mixing.
- Once you have cooked and mixed the lolli with sauce add any remaining sauce and meat. Add the broccoli. Cover with foil and bake at 350℉ for about 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then serve immediately with your favorite grated cheese.
Video
Notes
TOP TIP
Don't overwork the dough. It should be soft and you should be able to handle it without it being to sticky. Lightly sprinkle flour on dough if it's too sticky to handle.
Cook the sauce for about 45 minutes or until the meat is tender.
Sauce and lolli pasta can be made ahead of time to cut down the preparation time.
Freezing Instructions:
Instead of placing uncooked lolli in the fridge to dry out, place them in the freezer while they are on the baking tray lined with a kitchen towel. Once completed frozen, transfer to a container or zip lock bag.
When you are ready to use them, remove from freezer and place them a directly into boiling water. Make sure that you have a large stock pot of boiling water so that the water does not cool down as you place the frozen pasta in the water.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 660kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 32gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 512mgPotassium: 1171mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1061IUVitamin C: 81mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 7mg
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