Homemade Cavatelli Pasta with Oyster Mushroom and Sausage

5 from 28 votes

This yummy homemade cavatelli with oyster mushrooms and sausage is a traditional dish from Puglia in Southern Italy.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Puglia, Southern Italian

Keyword: cavatelli, oyster mushrooms, pasta recipe, puglia, sausage pasta

Servings:

Calories: 931kcal

Author: Jacqui

320 g cavatelli pasta 11 oz (homemade or dried)
300 g pork sausage (10 oz) skin removed and chopped
250 g oyster mushrooms (9 oz) In Puglia they use cardoncelli/king oyster mushrooms
250 g plum tomatoes (9 oz) peeled and chopped
150 g tomato passata (5 oz) I use Cirio passata rustica
50 g salted sheep's ricotta (2 oz) In Puglia, they use marzotica ricotta
3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
1 glass white wine
1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes (red chili pepper)
salt for pasta and to taste
black pepper to taste
1 handful fresh parsley chopped

Clean and cut the mushrooms into slices, peel and crush the garlic, remove the skin from the sausages and chop into small pieces, peel and chop the plum tomatoes. Chop the parsley.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan or skillet, add the garlic peeled and slightly crushed and fry.
Add the chopped sausage meat and brown a little then add the mushrooms previously cleaned and cut into strips. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate.
Add the peeled tomatoes. Crush them with a fork and, after a few minutes of cooking, add the tomato passata.
Season with a pinch salt, peperoncino and black pepper and add bay leaves, then simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the garlic.
In the meantime, put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil. Bring to the boil again and add the pasta. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet (if dried). Fresh cavatelli will rise to the surface when they are ready, remove with a slotted spoon. Save a cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta.
Finally, remove the bay leaves and add the cavatelli to the pan with the sauce. Mix together. If the sauce seems dry, add a little of the saved pasta cooking water. Add chopped parsley. Stir in the grated marzotica ricotta.
Serve immediately with more grated ricotta if required.

This recipe can be made with orecchiette or other types of short pasta.

Instead of marzotica ricotta you can use ricotta salata, feta, Pecorino Romano or Greek mizithra.