Make a well of the flour on a pastry board. Put the egg and a pinch of salt in the center. Mix together, gradually adding about two cups of water until the dough is soft but quite consistent.
Using your hands, roll the dough into long cylinders thick as a finger, and cut them into half-inch pieces.
Pass each piece over the ribbed board used for the purpose (lacking one you can use a fork to create the ribbing), then insert your finger in each one to make the indentation (cavatello) for which the dumpling is named.
Let the pieces rest for a couple of hours on a lightly floured board.
In a capacious pot sauté the oil and crushed garlic. Added the crumbled sausage and, after a few minutes and over high heat, pour in the wine. When it evaporates add the diced tomatoes and cook for another five minutes. Finally, add the mint leaves and salt to taste.
Cook and drain the cavatelli, put them in the pot with the sauce and let them simmer for a few minutes, adding some of the cooking water if needed.
Optionally, sprinkle with grated ragusano cheese.
Did you know?
This type of homemade pasta, different from the usual gnocchetti, is traditional for the highlands in the Syracuse and Ragusa areas, in the province of Enna and Caltanisetta and in the Agrigento zone. Cavatelli is the italianized name: in dialect the name is cavateddi or cavatieddi and, in Ragusa, even cavasuneddi. In his restaurant in Palazzolo Acreide, Andrea Alì offers them both with the classic pork sauce and as described in the recipe: fresh tomatoes, mint and a special sausage made from local pork, seasoned with wild fennel and chili pepper. The cavateddi can also be served with meat ragout or with tomato, eggplant and salted ricotta or with broccoli.
A succulent first course, pair with two medium-structured reds: Fragore, the Etna cru with marked minerality, or Angheli, the blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with soft tannins.
