Malloreddus

Saffron semolina dragged down a ridged board into small ridged shells.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 400 g fine semolina flour
• 200 ml warm water
• a good pinch of saffron
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Method

1. STEEP THE SAFFRON IN THE WARM WATER FOR 20 MINUTES before mixing. The dough comes out yellow and that colour is in the pasta rather than the sauce — it is the Sardinian signature here and powder will not give it.
2. Make a firm dough with the semolina, saffron water and salt. Knead 15 minutes and rest it an hour under a cloth.
3. Roll ropes the thickness of a finger and cut 1 cm pieces.
4. PRESS EACH PIECE WITH YOUR THUMB AGAINST A RIDGED WOODEN BOARD AND DRAG IT TOWARDS YOU. It curls into a small ridged shell with a hollow underneath.
5. A ciuliri — the Sardinian reed basket — or the back of a fork will do. The ridges and the hollow both hold sauce, and a smooth ball of dough holds none.
6. They are thicker than they look and want 10 to 12 minutes in the water, far longer than an egg pasta.
7. Dry them on a cloth for several hours, or a day, before cooking. Fresh they are gummy.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes