''Cavatelli'' ( , , ; Italian for 'little hollows') are small

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

shells made from

semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term ''semolina'' is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or ma ...

or other flour dough, commonly cooked with garlic and

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...

or rapini broccoli rabe, or simply with tomato sauce. A variant adds ricotta cheese to the dough mix. Another variant with seafood is very popular in seaside cities and villages.

Regional names and varieties

Many varieties and local names of ''cavatelli'' exist, including ''gnocchetti, manatelli, orecchie di prete'' (), ''strascinati, truoccoli; capunti, cingule, minuich, rascatelli, zinnezinne'' (

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

); ''cantaroggini, cavatieddi, cecatelli/cicatelli, cecatidde, cortecce'' (,

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

), ''mignuicchi, strascenate, tagghjunghele'' (

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

); ''pincinelle'' (

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

); ''cavatielle, 'ncatenate, cazzarille, ciufele'' (

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

); ''cavasuneddi, cavatuneddi, gnucchitti, gnocculi'' (

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

), and ''pizzicarieddi'' (

). A particular variety of ''cavatelli'' is typical of the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of

Teggiano Teggiano (), formerly Diano, is a town and (municipality) in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. It is situated on an isolated eminence above the upper part of the valley to which it gives the name of Vallo di Diano. Among the historic ...

, in Campania, where they are referred to as '' parmitieddi''. ''Parmitieddi'' are larger than ''cavatelli'' and flat-shaped. They are obtained by rolling a stick dough with three fingers of one hand, instead of with a single finger as done for the common ''cavatelli''. ''Parmitieddi'' are usually served as a first course on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

Regional names and varieties

See also

Notes

References

Sources