The difference
Orecchiette vs Cavatelli
Both are small Southern shapes dragged by hand, but orecchiette is a smooth concave ear pressed on a round disc, while cavatelli is a little rolled hull with a hollow down the middle. Orecchiette cups a sauce, cavatelli catches it in the fold.
Orecchiette
- Family
- Shaped shorts
- Size
- 9 to 25 mm across
- Surface
- Textured
- Cook
- 9 to 13 min
Wants: Broccoli rabe, Sausage ragu, Tomato with cacioricotta
Cavatelli
- Family
- Hand-formed regional
- Size
- not yet measured
- Surface
- Textured
- Cook
- 15 to 18 min
Wants: Sausage ragu, Broccoli rabe, Tomato sauce
Compare more shapes, or look up Orecchiette and Cavatelli in full.