Various Vegetables

• The smaller size of cavatelli makes it ideal to combine with vegetables. Small bits of the vegetables can get tucked away in the pasta's indentation. Try a spicy pasta dish made with broccoli florets, sprinkled with red pepper flakes and drizzled with olive oil. Another combination is cavatelli with fresh peas, asparagus tips and artichoke hearts. Cauliflower takes on an almost nutty flavor when roasted. Mix the cauliflower with almonds or walnuts, to emphasize that flavor, and the cavatelli; add a generous dollop of almond or walnut oil. Dust with paprika to add color.

Beautifully Baked

• Cavatelli, like other pastas, takes well to baking in casseroles. A simple dish that takes minutes to make is no more complicated than pouring a can each of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce over the cooked cavatelli and topping with a generous amount of cheddar cheese. Bake until the cheese becomes crunchy. Another idea is to substitute layers of cavatelli for lasagna noodles. The chicken, rice and condensed soup casserole takes a different twist when you substitute cooked pasta for the rice. Combine a can of cream of mushroom, celery or chicken soup with the cooked cavatelli. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bread crumbs and bake until bubbly.

Sensationally Sauced

• The canoe-shaped indentation in the cavatelli and the ridges around the outside of the pasta traps sauce. A sauce of olive oil with a dusting of parmesan cheese and freshly grated black pepper goes together quickly. Make a fresh tomato sauce by dicing tomatoes along with minced garlic and basil shreds. Place the ingredients in a blender if you prefer a smoother sauce. Serve over the hot pasta.

Stupendous in Salads

• Mix freshly cooked, hot cavatelli with Italian salad dressing; the pasta soaks up the dressing. Combine with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers along with chunks of feta cheese for a take on a Greek salad. The smaller shape of cavatelli makes it a natural for a seafood-based pasta salad. Add tiny shrimp, crab or lobster to the pasta. Bind it together with a lemon-laced mayonnaise dressing and stuff into a hollowed-out tomato.