Not too long ago I was introduced to a New York pasta company called Sfoglini. This pasta shape, cascatelli, was developed in 2019 by American food podcaster Dan Pashman in collaboration with the New York pasta company Sfoglini. It is a short pasta and a hybrid of bucatini and mafalda pastas with a flat strip and a pair of ruffles parallel to each other, each of which sticks out at 90-degree angle from the strip. The ruffles give the shape a lot of texture that you taste/feel with every bite. It’s a perfect “sauce trough” and trust me if you are a pasta lover this will become a favorite.
Pashman has three qualities he wants when it comes to pasta shapes: forkability, sauceability and toothsinkability. Cascatelli definitely has all three and probably why it was voted the favorite pasta shape by People Magazine’s Food Awards. You can find this pasta at Whole Foods, Fresh Market, select Walmarts, Amazon and at https://www.sfoglini.com/.
A fun and tasty pasta dish with a delicious sauce and a unique shaped pasta that won the top spot in People’s Magazine for favorite pasta shape…
Cascatelli with Double Pork Ragu
- 16 oz. Sfoglini Cascatelli by Sporkful
- 4 oz. diced pancetta
- large pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- kosher salt
- EVOO (if needed)
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 lb. ground pork
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- one (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup frozen peas (I did not add)
- fresh parsley, chopped for serving
- Pecorino Romano, grated for serving
Bring 4 quarts of water with 2 tbsp. kosher salt to a boil. Add Cascatelli and cook for 11 minutes or until al dente; reserve some of the pasta water.
In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until crisp and most of the fat has been rendered out, 5-7 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Turn the heat to medium low; add the red pepper flakes, onion, celery and carrot to the pan, seasoning with Kosher salt to taste. Cook until the veggies are tender about 8-10 minutes. Add EVOO to the pan if needed. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Move the veggies to the edges of the saucepan. Season the ground pork with salt and pepper and add to the pan, turning the heat up slightly. Break the pork apart using a wooden spoon and cook until it’s browned and cooked all the way through, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, stirring until the pork is evenly coated. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes and the cooked pancetta. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. About 5 minutes before you finish cooking the sauce, add the frozen peas (I did not add). If you want a thinner sauce add some of the reserved pasta water; season to taste.
Stir the cooked cascatelli into the ragu until it’s coated evenly. Top with fresh parsley and Pecorino Romano and serve.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
The ingredients…
The right pasta for this delicious ragu…
How can you not love this pasta shape?
A great meal served with a small green salad and your favorite bread…
Sept.27, 2023 – Made Mafaldine Pasta with Green Beans, Potatoes and Pesto – look how the pesto hugs every bit of the cascatelli!!!
I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but it says I must be logged in to comment. There is no place to log in, so I am not sure what to do?
At any rate that looks like a great recipe – love the pasta!
Once again I have pushed the wrong button and I am trying to figure out the problem. I seem to be making it worse… It’s a fun pasta shape (People’s Award Magazine Favorite Shape of Pasta). The recipe is excellent and I will be making it again. 🙂
I’ve seen the pasta at Fresh Market, now I will have to give it a try. Your meal sounds great.
Thanks Karen – I love their pasta shapes and can find some of it locally but the rest I get online.This is an excellent recipe and one that will become a favorite 🙂 It’s nice that they provide recipes on their site for all the different pastas…
The dish is perfect for the colder days ahead.
I discovered mafalda pasta not long ago, and really enjoyed the unique shape, so I’m sure I would enjoy this one as well. I will look for it. 🙂
Once again, I’m somehow under “anonymous”… I’ll try not to take it too personally! 😀
Yikes – I’m sorry. I have to go into my dashboard under “comments” to reply to you. I tried to correct this and only created more problems. I am trying to figure out what I have done, so I apologize 🙂 I get really frustrated with technology as I can’t figure out how to get the MI football game today as I don’t get cable any more and for another game I had to sign up for a new streaming service and now this issue with WP. So, I guess I am not doing too good… 🙁
Sorry to hear! Technology is great when everything works well, otherwise it can be the most frustrating thing!
I’ve noticed that WP keep changing and adding and basically just causing havoc. Hope things will go back to normal soon. 🙂
This recipe is excellent and I do love all their pasta shapes – fun to cook with! On this first day of Fall it is perfect for Michigan weather as we transition to the cooler temps 🙂
I’m all for cooler weather, though would appreciate a mild winter. After my days in Vermont I’m not so fond of heavy snow… 🙂
See my post for a delicious malfalda pasta dish https://cookingwithauntjuju.com/2017/09/05/mafaldine-pasta-with-potatoes/
Now that you’ve mentioned your recipe, I can see it’s where I first learned about this type of pasta. So thanks again! 🙂
Oh sure – I just printed out the recipe as I have leftover pesto I need to use up 🙂
Sounds good! 🙂
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