Bolognese Cavatelli

By kimvess

Ingredients

• COOK:
• 1 lb. dry cavatelli pasta
• FOR THE SAUCE, PULSE:
• 1 cup each chopped onions, carrots, and celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• ADD:
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1 ⁄2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 dried bay leaves
• ADD:
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ⁄2 cup dry red wine
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
• 1 ⁄2 cup grated Romano (2 oz.)
• Pinch of sugar
• FOR THE MEATBALLS, COMBINE:
• 8 oz. each ground pork and ground sirloin
• 1 ⁄2 cup grated onion
• 1 ⁄4 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 ⁄4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
• 1 Tbsp. fennel seed
• 1 tsp. each dried Italian seasoning and kosher salt
• 1 ⁄2 tsp. black pepper
• TOP:
• 8 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from cuisinerecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400° with a baking sheet inside. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

Cook cavatelli in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly underdone, 6–7 minutes; drain.

For the sauce, pulse chopped onions, carrots, celery, and garlic cloves in a food processor until minced. Transfer mixture to a sauté pan and sweat in oil over medium heat until liquid evaporates, 8–10 minutes.

Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, 1 tsp. salt and black pepper, and bay leaves.

Stir in broth, wine, tomatoes, Romano, and sugar; simmer over medium-high heat, stirring often, until thick and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in pasta.

For the meatballs, combine pork, sirloin, grated onion, bread crumbs, parsley, egg, minced garlic, fennel seed, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. salt, and 1⁄2 tsp. black pepper in a medium bowl. Form mixture into meatballs using a #60 scoop (about 2 Tbsp.). Spray preheated baking sheet with nonstick spray. Carefully place meatballs on tray and bake 15 minutes.

Arrange meatballs in bottom of prepared baking dish; top with pasta, sauce, and mozzarella.

Cover casserole with foil and bake 15 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Let casserole rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 450 cal; 14g total fat (7g sat); 65mg chol; 1091mg sodium; 51g carb; 5g fiber; 27g protein