Campanelle Pasta
Monday, May 7, 2007 at 07:24AM 
Campanelle Pasta! Where have you been all my life?
I discovered campanelle a few months ago when my local grocery store had Barilla pasta on sale, 10 for $1 (oops! make that 10 for $10! Still a great deal.) I grabbed up an assortment of ten different kinds of pasta, most of which were my old Barilla stand-bys like ziti, farfalle, and rontini.
The campanelle camped out on my pantry shelf for quite awhile. I just wasn't sure what to do with it. One day I decided to make cavatini and when I checked my pasta shelf, I only had fiori, farfalle, campanelle and elbow macaroni. Fiori, the little flowery pasta is just too delicate to be baked, farfalle is too flat and can adhere together and form a sedimentary stratum in a baked pasta dish, so that was out. Elbow macaroni is, well, not flashy enough for cavatini (I used to use penne) so I pulled down the campanelle, thinking, "Today is the day."
I "prepare(d) according to package." The pasta was firm and held it's lovely ruffled trumpet shape beautifully. I tipped in the cavatini sauce, and tossed it together. Gorgeous! The trumpets gathered the peppers, onions, mushrooms and meat into their little bells and the sauce crept in to the spiral. And it only got better; I added the cheese and baked it. The pasta maintained its integrity and the cheese melted over the bells and sealed in the saucy goodness. Ah! Perfect! Sauce and cheese and chunky ingredients with every bite! Ah! Barilla campanelle! I am your biggest fan!
So, in honor of my new found, favorite pasta, I am sharing two recipes; one from Barilla and one from my own concoctions. Here's mine:
Cavatini
1 package of Barilla Campanelle, prepared according to package directions. Drain, but don't rinse.
Meanwhile, brown one pound ground round along with a 5 ounce package of Hormel pepperoni, cubed. Render all the fat and drain. To the same pan, add olive oil, and sautee' 1 white onion, 1/2 red and 1/2 green pepper, (all chopped in 1 inch dice) and one 8 oz package of sliced mushrooms. Sautee' until onions are almost translucent and mushrooms have given up some of their fluid. I add my diced garlic, one or two cloves, near the end of the sautee' so it doesn't get bitter. Add 1 can cubed tomatoes, drained, and 1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce. You don't even need to heat it through since it's going into the oven. Add pasta to sauce and toss until the campanella grabs the chunky ingredients.
Spray a baking dish with vegetable spray and spoon enough pasta mixture to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with cheese--lots of cheese. I used shredded mozzerella and then layer sliced provolone on top of that. Continue to layer, as you would for lasagna, and then top with shredded mozzerella and fresh, grated parmesean. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly and cheese is beginning to brown.
Serve with a simple green salad and some nice crusty bread.
Campanelle with Spinach & Beans (Campanelle con Spinaci e Fagioli)
Ease of preparation: average
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4-6
Regions: Toscana
Wine pairing: Red
Ingredients
1 can (19 ounces)cannellini beans, drained
1/2 cupParmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
2 tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
1 clovegarlic, minced
1/2 teaspoonsalt
1/4 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
1/2 box (16 ounces)BARILLA Campanelle
1 package (6 ounces)fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
COMBINE the first six ingredients in a large bowl.
COOK pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir in spinach to wilt.
ADD ingredients from large bowl to pasta and spinach; serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
What could be easier?
I've also tried campanelle in cold pasta salads. It works fine, but you'll probably have to add a bit more dressing because it seems to drink the dressing and the salad can be dry. I found I had to stir in a little more dressing before I served my cold pasta salad.
Reader Comments (10)
Kim, All I can say is yummo! When is dinner!
I have not seen that pasta before. The Cavatini sounds delicious. My husband doesn't like pepperoni but I bet I could substitute with sausage. Thanks for the recipes, I'm going to look for that pasta next time I go shopping. Blessings,Terri
Well, you've certainly encouraged me to branch out in my pasta recipes! They both sound great--I especially like the "10 for $1" sale you found. :-)
OOoops! That was a typo! It was really 10 for $10, or a dollar a box. Still a great price, don't you think?
O my goodness, YUMMM! You've got me. I'll have to try it. :)
Umm, yeah, It is 9:50 am and I am now craving Italian! Thanks for that. Oh man that sounds delicious!
I need directions to your house, I'm coming over for left overs! ;)
Thank you for sharing, I will definately be trying this one!
Kim, We love pasta and I've seen campanelle but have never bought it. Your recipe sounds delicious and I am going to try it out for dinner this week!
Never tried campanelle pasta before,but your cavatini recipe sounds wonderful and I just copied it!!
Sounds delish Kim. I've copied this one down. We have a pasta night once a week at our house!!
:)
That sounds so good! I'll be trying it - a good break from spaghetti!
Such a loving post to pasta! With rich little descriptions of their trumpeting shape. I especially enjoyed your context of the word stratum...just perfect! XO