Semola Pasta Dough for Divina Cavatelli Pasta Maker

I recently purchased a Divina Cavatelli Pasta Maker that suctions to a flat surface. I just used it a few days ago and it is incredibly easy to set up, use and clean. It's also made in Italy! There are two recipes I found to use with this machine. I made the simplest one that uses only two ingredients - semola flour and water. The dough was very easy to mix together by hand and even easier to work with, rolling it into long strands to feed through the cavatelli maker. If you've ever wanted to start making your own pasta but you've been intimidated by the thought of it, this little cavatelli maker would be a great place to start!

A note on this cavatelli maker - it is not intended for ricotta based recipes as that dough would be too soft. A gnocchi board would be perfect for ricotta based dough.

I purchased this from Consiglio's in Canada, but you can also buy it directly from Tagliapasta, however the shipping to the USA will cost a lot more. Tagliapasta's website also offers some accessories like a clamp (not needed unless you are using it on a rough surface that the suction cup will not stick to - I had no problem using it on my granite countertop) and a storage bag. It's also available on Amazon and Etsy. I found Consiglio's price to be the best and they had a 5% discount, no tax and free shipping. I also noticed the price dropped $12 a few days after I placed my order, and I contacted their customer service to ask if they would refund me the difference and they did. I ended up paying $102.59 for it, which is not bad for something made this well.

I wrote out the recipe below based on this video (which is helpful to watch) and how I made my pasta. The recipe in the video calls for 00 flour, but I used Caputo Semola Flour as I had seen in many other recipes. This is different from regular semolina flour as it is twice milled and therefore, very fine, which makes for very smooth pasta dough. I highly suggest using a kitchen scale to precisely measure the flour and water. If the dough is too dry as you are working with it, add a bit more water and if it's too wet, add a bit more flour, until you get it right. My dough came out perfect using the amounts written in the recipe. I had never made pasta with only flour and water before, but I found it very easy to work with and very easy to shape into "pasta ropes" compared to the times I've made a recipe with flour and eggs. I will try that recipe with this pasta maker next and see how the two compare, but this recipe was super quick and easy!

Of course, you can adjust this recipe to make more or less of it. Use half the amount of water for the amount of flour you use. If you're trying to figure out how much to make for the amount of people you are feeding, I've always read to figure 100 grams of flour per person. For my family, that would be 400 grams of flour, but I always like to make a little extra so I made the recipe as it is written below.

I froze this batch of pasta in a gallon size ziploc bag and we tried it a few nights later. If you freeze the pasta, do not defrost it - just put it in the boiling water while it is still frozen. It took about 15 minutes to cook. I thought it was really good! If I had to choose a favorite, I prefer the dough made with eggs, probably just because that is what I am used to eating, but this one is also very good and definitely worth trying! I know I'll be making it again soon.

Semola Pasta Dough for Divina Cavatelli Pasta Maker

 

By using the Divina product, you can prepare three different types of cavatelli in just a few minutes.

 

500 grams Semola flour

250 grams lukewarm water

 

Put the flour on a work surface and make a well in it. Add water to the well, a little at a time, mixing the flour and water together until it is all incorporated. Knead for several minutes until smooth. Form into a ball.

 

Wrap the dough ball and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

 

Cut off a section of dough to use and wrap the rest up again so it does not dry out. Roll out thin pasta ropes about 1-2cm wide. Dust ropes with flour and run them through the machine (not too fast). Immediately separate the pasta pieces and sprinkle them with a little bit of flour so they do not stick together. Repeat these steps with the rest of the dough, alternating between the three different pasta shapes.

 

Let the pasta dry for at least 30 minutes before boiling them. Eat fresh or freeze for later.