Savor the flavors of Florence in my cavatappi with creamy tomato sauce. No passport required!
This cavatappi with creamy tomato sauce recipe showcases an elegant, rich tomato sauce, spiked with cream and red pepper, and I serve it on top of a unique pasta that may need a little introduction.
The recipe does have a few ingredients, but the only real effort required is a little chopping and some patience while the sauce simmers. Just pour yourself a glass of wine, and get ready for the amazing smells that will be coming out of your kitchen soon!
Sautéed onions are the first layer of flavor, slowly browned to caramelize and release their sugar, along with red pepper flakes for a very subtle hint of heat, and some chopped prosciutto.
If you’re not familiar with this Italian ham, it’s dried rather than cooked, sliced paper thin, and usually served on a charcuterie plate or wrapped around a piece of melon or other fruit (though it also makes a great pizza topping, since the thin slices get really crispy when baked).
Many classic Italian tomato sauces use either pancetta or prosciutto to provide that savory, meaty quality without having to add so much meat. Pancetta is just a fattier choice, so I like to use prosciutto in this particular recipe.
There’s fresh garlic, of course, but only enough to provide subtle flavor, not enough for an all-night reminder of what you had for supper.
One of the things that set my cavatappi with tomato cream sauce apart from other recipes is using three different sources of tomatoes: 1) crushed – light, bright, and acidic; 2) sundried – bright but intense and sweet; and 3) paste – rich and full-bodied. These three types of tomatoes build layers of flavor you just won’t appreciate until you take that first bite.
Try more of my deliciously authentic Italian pastas. Ragu bolognese, pasta alla norma, cacio e pepe, and baked ziti with ricotta.
Bellissimo my Friends!
What is Cavatappi:
Let’s talk about cavatappi pasta. Cavatappi pronunciation is “cah-vah-TOP-pee,” It’s a corkscrew-shaped tube pasta, about one inch long, with ridges on the sides. The literal definition of cavatappi is “tap extractor” (yes, like a beer keg).
This shape has tons of surface area and is especially suited for clinging to a sauce like its life depended on it. It’s the perfect home for big ladles of my creamy tomato sauce, instantly transporting you to the patio of some romantic trattoria in the heart of Tuscany.
Cavatappi with Creamy Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- Butter: Use salted or unsalted.
- Prosciutto: Italian ham.
- Onion: Yellow onion.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Add more or less depending on your heat tolerance.
- Garlic: Only use fresh garlic not the stuff from a jar.
- Tomato Paste: Add a 2nd type of tomato to the sauce to create great complexity in the sauce.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: Use the type in oil. Just pat them with paper towels to remove most of the oil.
- White Wine: Only use wine you would drink out of a glass. I like a crisp, light white.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Use San Marzano crushed tomatoes.
- Pasta: I use Barilla Cavatappi.
- Cream: Use heavy cream or whipping cream.
- Basil: I definitely recommend using fresh basil for this dish. There’s a bright quality that just can’t be duplicated with dry, not to mention the gorgeous green color. If you chop yours ahead of time, those green leaves will brown, though. Don’t worry – while this color doesn’t match the Italian flag anymore, it won’t impact the flavor.
Recipe Notes For Cavatappi:
- Sauciest of sauces – Saving the cooking water to use in the sauce is an old chef’s trick. The cooking water is enriched with the flavor of the pasta and concentrated starch is released as the pasta cooks. Adding it to the sauce creates a silky texture that embraces the pasta perfectly. It truly is a magical ingredient.
- The recipe calls for adjusting the consistency of the sauce as needed, and I find I use about ¼ cup of pasta water. The sauce stays nice and thick while still being thin enough to distribute evenly.
- A stickler for instructions – The instructions on this recipe aren’t hard, but you do need to follow them.
- Make sure to caramelize the onions. Don’t rush the onions. If they don’t brown well or if they burn, you’ll miss out on important flavor development.
- Note also that both the crushed tomatoes and the white wine are added in two stages. This is important to allow the flavors to develop a bit with the first edition while preserving the wonderful fresh qualities of the additions made just before serving.
- Pasta substitutes: Sometimes cavatappi can be hard to find. Other pasta will work but you want it to have those glorious little ridges to help carry the sauce. Fusilli regate, penne regate, and penne mostaccioli are all great pasta substitutes in this cavatappi with creamy tomato sauce recipe.
Serving Recommendations
This stuff is so good it makes a solid lunch all by itself, no sandwich needed. Or you can whip up a creamy cucumber salad and serve it with grilled cilantro lime chicken for a full-flavored rendition of a 5-star meal.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Cool the leftovers completely and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? No. This is best served fresh.
- Make-Ahead Tips: You can make the sauce a day or two ahead of time.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno
- Chicken Lasagna
- Baked Ziti With Sausage
- Spaghetti With Ground Beef
- Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta
- Roasted Tomato Pasta
Cavatappi with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 ounces prosciutto chopped
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained, rinsed, patted dry, chopped
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine divided
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons canned crushed tomato divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1 pound cavatappi
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves julienned
Instructions
- In a large, high-sided skillet, melt the butter (3 tablespoons) over medium heat. Add the prosciutto (2 ounces), onion (1), and red pepper flakes (1 pinch) and cook until the onions are very soft about 10 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium-high and stir in the garlic (3 cloves). Cook, stirring constantly for 30-45 seconds. Add tomato paste (2 tablespoons) and sun-dried tomatoes (3 tablespoons) and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Pour 1/4 cup of wine into the skillet and cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the Cavatappi (1 pound) until al dente, according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain Cavatappi well then return it back to the cooking pot.
- Add 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), pepper (1/2 teaspoons), and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover partially, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, (a spoon dragged through the sauce will leave a trail) about 15 minutes. Add cream (1/2 cup), basil (1/4 cup), the remaining 2 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of wine to thicken the sauce. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning.
- Toss Cavatappi with sauce. Adjust the consistency with cooking water as needed. Serve immediately.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Sauciest of sauces - Saving the cooking water to use in the sauce is an old chef’s trick. The cooking water is enriched with the flavor of the pasta and concentrated starch is released as the pasta cooks. Adding it to the sauce creates a silky texture that embraces the pasta perfectly. It truly is a magical ingredient.
- The recipe calls for adjusting the consistency of the sauce as needed, and I find I use about ¼ cup of pasta water. The sauce stays nice and thick while still being thin enough to distribute evenly.
- A stickler for instructions – The instructions on this recipe aren’t hard, but you do need to follow them.
- Make sure to caramelize the onions. Don’t rush the onions. If they don’t brown well or if they burn, you’ll miss out on important flavor development.
- Note also that both the crushed tomatoes and the white wine are added in two stages. This is important to allow the flavors to develop a bit with the first edition while preserving the wonderful fresh qualities of the additions made just before serving.
- Pasta substitutes: Sometimes cavatappi can be hard to find. Other pasta will work but you want it to have those glorious little ridges to help carry the sauce. Fusilli regate, penne regate, and penne mostaccioli are all great pasta substitutes in this cavatappi with creamy tomato sauce recipe.
Easy and SO DELICIOUS! Once the chopping/prep work is done, this is is a breeze to make. And it tastes even better the next day, when the flavors have gained some weight and savory creaminess. This is going to be a regular part of my go-to dishes.
YAY! So happy to hear you enjoyed it Angela! ?