Recipe: Creamy Gruyère and Lemon Cavatelli by Dani Venn is a rich, bright and easy pasta dish to make at home

Masterchef fan-favourite Dani Venn brings comfort to the table with this delicious pasta recipe. A silky sauce of gruyère, lemon and crème fraîche coats tender cavatelli, creating a rich dish that’s perfect for a weeknight with the family or a dinner-party showstopper.

Tip: If you don’t want to make the pasta yourself skip the pasta dough ingredients and get 500g of cavatelli dried pasta, then start the instructions from step number four.

Creamy gruyère and lemon cavatelli

Pasta dough ingredients

• 1 cup semolina
• 1 cup ‘OO’ flour
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water

Pasta sauce ingredients

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
• 400ml chicken stock (or vegetable if preferred)
• 1 tsp finely grated or microplaned lemon zest
• 60ml or 1/4 cup crème fraiche
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 100g gruyère cheese AOP, finely grated
• Salt flakes, to season
• Cracked pepper, to season
• 100g baby spinach

Method

1. Combine pasta dough ingredients in a bowl and knead for five minutes until dough bounces back.
2. Rest for 30 minutes wrapped in cling wrap.
3. Boil a large pot of salted water, add pasta and cook until al dente. In the last minute of cooking, add spinach. Drain pasta and spinach, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.
4. To make the sauce, place a large frypan over medium heat. Add butter and when melted add shallots and cook for one minute, stirring occasionally, then add garlic and cook for a further two minutes.
5. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute to make a light roux. Deglaze the pan with white wine (if using) and whisk, then slowly add the chicken stock and lemon zest, stirring constantly so the sauce is smooth. Simmer for a further three minutes to thicken the sauce.
6. Lower the heat and stir through crème fraiche, lemon juice and gruyère cheese. Whisk well and simmer for a further minute. Season with salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
7. Once the pasta has cooked, add pasta water and stir through drained pasta and wilted spinach, tossing well to coat.
8. Option to serve with finely diced chervil or tarragon and more cracked black pepper and grated gruyère.

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