Angela's Italian Recipe for Cavatelli with Sardinian Tomato Sauce

Cavatelli with Sardinian Tomato Sauce
(Cavatelli Con Salsa di Pomodoro Sarda)


Ingredients:

For the Tomato Sauce:
1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 lb semi hard pork salami about 1-inch in diameter, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 lb ground pork
3-4 lb very ripe pureed peeled plum tomatoes or 1 (28-oz) can tomato puree
3-4 lb very ripe crushed peeled plum tomatoes or 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
Salt

For the Pasta:
1 lb. small dried pasta, such as cavatelli or trofie
1 cup freshly grated young Pecorino cheese
Salt

Directions:

Prepare the Tomato Sauce:
Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat.

Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft, 8?10 minutes.

Add ground pork and pork shoulder and cook, stirring and breaking up ground meat with back of spoon, until meat is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Add salami, pureed and crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, 1 cup water, and salt to taste and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pot, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork shoulder falls apart and sauce is thick, 2 to 2 and a 1/2 hours.

Adjust seasonings.

Discard bay leaves.

Prepare the Pasta:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat until tender, 12-15 minutes, then drain.

Place one-third of the pasta into a large bowl.

Ladle about 1 cup of the tomato sauce over pasta and sprinkle with one-third of the cheese.

Repeat the layering process, in that order, twice more. Serves 4-8.

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