Cavatelli (, , ; Italian for 'little hollows') are small pasta shells made from semolina or other flour dough, commonly cooked with garlic and broccoli 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 (lit. 'priest's ears'), strascinati, truoccoli; capunti, cingule, minuich, rascatelli, zinnezinne (Basilicata); cantaroggini, cavatieddi, cecatelli/cicatelli, cecatidde, cortecce (lit. 'tree barks', Salerno), mignuicchi, strascenate, tagghjunghele (Apulia and Campania); pincinelle (Marche); cavatielle, 'ncatenate, cazzarille, ciufele (Molise); cavasuneddi, cavatuneddi, gnucchitti, gnocculi (Sicily), and pizzicarieddi (Apulia). A particular variety of cavatelli is typical of the comune (municipality) of Teggiano, 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 because their shape, similar to that of a tree leaf, recalls that of a palm.

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