Malloreddus Alla Campidanese Recipe (Sardinian Ridged Pasta With Saffron and Pork Ragù)

Sardinia is a craggy island positioned simply off the knee of Italy’s boot. And, as an island, seafood holds sway, however retreat inland and also you’ll discover a wealthy, farm-centered delicacies made up of laborious durum wheat, mutton, sheeps’ milk cheese, and wiry-haired porco sardo, a local breed of pig. 

Malloreddus alla campidanese―pasta tossed in a wealthy ragù of tomato, fatty Sardinian pork sausage, and a local sherry-like wine known as vernaccia di Oristano―is a style of this inland delicacies (Campidanese refers back to the fashion of the sauce, and is called after a plain on the island). Whereas each household has their very own iteration, the dish usually consists of little ridged pasta nuggets―the malloreddus―which are created from finely-ground semolina flour. Many recipes and eating places check with this pasta as Sardinian gnocchi (“gnochetti sardi”), although in case you are anticipating pillowy, mild potato gnocchi, you’re in for a shock; as a substitute, this fashion of pasta is chewy and toothsome. The ragù that the gnocchi are served in is imbued with saffron, which some postulate arrived on Sardinian shores eons in the past, throughout commerce with the Pheonicians; although the saffron crocus continues to be grown by Sardinian farmers in the present day. 

The dish is completed with lashings of fudgy-textured, salty-sweet Pecorino Sardo, which Letitia Clark, writer of the Sardinian cookbook Bitter Honey, defined may be very totally different from the mass-produced Pecorino Romano typically present in supermarkets within the US (which is usually crumbly, dry, and decidedly not fudgy in texture). 

When growing this recipe, I wished to be cognizant of this dish’s terroir, however I additionally wished to make it accessible, since most of us gained’t be capable to get recent Sardinian pork sausage, and since it may be troublesome to search out Sardinian wine, Pecorino Sardo, and even Clark’s most popular Sardinian model of complete canned tomatoes—Antonella (which you should purchase on-line, although with a hefty delivery charge). Whereas I’ve referenced most of those conventional elements within the recipe (save for the sausage), I’ve additionally offered some knowledgeable substitutions that may get you fairly near the true deal. For instance, I had bother discovering an area supply for vernaccia di Oristano, so as a substitute, I turned to fino sherry; that is the driest of the sherries and lends the requisite nutty, barely candy notes with out making the sauce saccharine. But when you may get your palms on some vernaccia di Oristano (you may supply it on-line) all of the extra energy to you. 

For the tomatoes, if you’d like a really genuine sauce, you may go forward and purchase the Alessi model that Clark makes use of and recommends. I experimented with just a few totally different manufacturers of complete canned tomatoes I discovered at my native grocery retailer earlier than selecting Alessi DOP complete peeled San Marzano tomatoes with basil; they have been a pleasant stability of candy and tangy, and melted properly into the sauce; different manufacturers like Muir Glen have been watery and left laborious chunks of tomato. For finest outcomes, spring for any good-quality model of whole-canned tomatoes: DeLallo, Gustiamo’s, Mutti, and Bianco di Napoli are just a few choices. And if you cannot discover Pecorino Sardo (although you can purchase it on-line and at specialty cheese counters, when you’re prepared to look), I discovered that good-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano, which has the same sweet-salty style, works. Orthodox, no, however it’s the closest factor most of us can simply get. 

Then there’s the saffron. In keeping with Clark and Sardinian blogger Claudia Tavani, most Sardinians use saffron powder as a result of it’s cheaper. Nevertheless, even after a number of grocery retailer visits I couldn’t discover saffron powder; I solely discovered threads. Whereas you should buy saffron powder on-line, the nice high quality type is about the identical worth as complete threads; I’d choose no matter is extra available to you, and in my case it was a tiny capsule of threads that set me again about $10. 

The sausage was the trickiest ingredient to determine. In keeping with Clark, recent Sardinian pork sausage is darkish, virtually maroon, with only some added flavorings: garlic, fennel, black pepper, and generally chile. It’s additionally unattainable to search out stateside. So, I made a decision the very best route was to make my very own stand-in. It’s not as laborious because it sounds, particularly because you don’t have to stuff the combination into casings; it simply requires seasoning pre-ground pork with salt, pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, and purple pepper flakes. If you’d like a good simpler shortcut, you should use good-quality candy Italian sausage faraway from the casings or purchased free. The flavors is likely to be totally different than the true deal, however you’ll nonetheless get a scrumptious porky ragù to serve along with your malloreddus. 

The one non-negotiable when making this dish is the finely-ground semolina flour—it’s important to getting the chewy, toothsome texture of the malloreddus. Coarser semolina will lead to a nubbly dough and tough pasta. King Arthur Baking Firm sells a finely-ground model that they name “durum flour” (durum wheat is the varietal used to make semolina), which is ideal for this recipe.

Many recipes name for rolling the dough into 1/2-inch-thick ropes, then slicing every rope into 1/2 -inch-thick chunks earlier than shaping. I discovered the malloreddus this measurement a bit massive and dense, and most popular barely smaller ones, about 1/4 inch thick in measurement. This nonetheless produced a considerable but barely dainty malloreddus that felt extra proportionate to the bits of floor meat within the ragù.  

To get the form of the malloreddus proper, I used a gnocchi board (which produced good outcomes), however I additionally found a enjoyable various methodology when you don’t have (or don’t wish to litter your drawers with) a gnocchi board: a sushi mat. Simply unroll the mat, take a nugget of dough and roll it within the route of the bamboo—you’ll have a fantastic little malloreddus. When you’ve got neither of this stuff, a fork will work in a pinch. 

As I formed the malloreddus, I positioned them on a sheet pan coated calmly in semolina flour and tossed them with a little bit extra semolina flour earlier than masking them with plastic wrap. You too can freeze them by putting them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and masking it with plastic wrap, when you’re not utilizing them immediately. 

The final step—however one which Clark says is integral to a cohesive last dish (we’ve mentioned it too)—is to simmer the cooked pasta briefly within the sauce, which helps it cling higher. 

I gained’t lie, this isn’t the kind of pasta dish you throw collectively on a Tuesday evening; it’s truly the definition of “selfmade,” if there ever was one. However, the consequence—little chewy pasta nuggets swaddled in a aromatic, earthy, and porky ragù—is definitely worth the effort and time. Serve it to these you actually love (acquaintances, possibly not), or tuck right into a bowl your self, a glass of Barolo inside arms attain, and luxuriate within the fruit of your labor.