Gnocchi Sardi
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes plus resting
Servings 4-6
Ingredients
Pasta/Malloreddus/Gnocchetti Sardi
300g fine semolina
150ml warm water
1 pinch saffron
Pork sausage sauce (Campidanese ragu)
4 pork sausages, good-quality, removed from their skins (use Sardinian pork and fennel sausages if you can get hold of them)
1 tsp fennel seeds (blitzed into a fine powder with the spice grinder or using the pestle and mortar)
1 medium brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
125ml white wine
400g Roma tomatoes, diced
2 bay leaf
Splash of olive oil
Pinch salt
Pinch black pepper
Pinch saffron
Pecorino Romano cheese
Knob of butter
Method
To make the gnocchi dough, add the saffron to the warm water ideally the night before but if just left to infuse for 10 minutes it will also work, then mix the water into the semolina by creating a well and pouring the water inside, use a fork to get the dough to a paste stage by bringing in the flour to the water gradually then switch to hands to form a dough. If you have a mixer you can use that.
Knead for 5 minutes until the dough becomes springy. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for 1 hour.
When ready to shape the Malloreddus, cut the dough into pieces and roll into a thin cylinder, around 0.7 cm in diameter. Then chop into pieces around 1 cm long. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
Using a gnocchi board, roll the dough pieces down the board with your thumb one at a time, creating ridged little curls; this helps for collecting the sauce later. Leave the shapes on a tray sprinkled with semolina flour, you can also freeze them to keep for later.
For the Ragu, add the saffron to the white wine, set aside.
On a medium high heat, brown the sausage meat to get a nice brown colour, while breaking it up into small pieces. Once cooked, remove meat from the pan and set aside.
In the residual sausage fat add a little olive oil and sauté the onions on a medium heat. Once translucent (approx 5 minutes) add in the garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the black pepper and fennel seed powders and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the diced Roma tomatoes and cook until the water from the tomatoes has evaporated and stir until they are well incorporated, deglaze with white wine and reduce the liquid by 80%.
Add the sausage meat back into the pan, along with the bay leaves and water (bring it up to about the line of the meat) and cook for a further 30-40 minutes. If you have the time, this sauce can be cooked on a very low heat for an hour, which will give the ragu a softer texture.
Pro-tip: the ragu will taste better if you make it three days in advance and leave it to mature in the fridge.
To assemble, place a pot of salted water on the heat with a good few pinches of semolina flour. The flour and water will help to bind the ragu and pasta at the end.
Add the Malloreddus to the water and boil for 5 minutes. Whilst the pasta is cooking, have the ragu ready and hot in the pan. Add the pasta to the ragu with a bit of the water and boil to combine.
Add a knob of butter and a handful of Pecorino Romano, and toss or stir to emulsify. Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve. Top with more cheese if that floats your boat.
