Mélange: Sardinian Cuisine

3. Sardinian Cuisine

Mom has a trace of Sardinian ancestry. Although at this point we’d be guessing, it is a safe bet that this is form her maternal side—specifically her maternal grandfather’s side of the family.

I half expected Corsicans, but Sardinians caught us both by surprise. Admittedly, I know very little about Sardinia. The fact that there is a Catalan connection is news to me, and I found the Wikipedia entry fascinating and a gateway to all sorts of knowledge I did not possess before and now I must have! Every hyperlink lead to another epic page of fascinating facts—including an aside to the page about the giants of Mont’e Prama who reminded me of The Iron Giant.

From its ancient history to its beautiful architecture to the beautiful beaches, Sardinia is immensely interesting. But, of course, it is the food that we wanted to know more about…

It actually turns out that we already have a dish in our repertoire that is very much the ringer for one of Sardinia’s national dishes. According to Sardinia Unlimited, a “typical [S]ardinian pasta” . . . fregola is made of semolina and rolled into balls, and one of the most delicious ways to serve it is with seafood in a saffron broth. To me, the Sardinian delicacy looks very much like my Mom’s seafood medley with pearl couscous. The difference, apparently, is that fregola is toasted—but Mom actually toasts the pearl couscous before cooking it, so I expect we’ve already achieved the taste profile for the dish (toasting the pasta makes it taste a little nutty).

I am toying with making malloreddus (Sardinian gnocchi) with sausage. In one of the recipes I consulted, it was suggested to substitute with cavatelli—though specialty shops will likely have malloreddus. There are two recipe variations that I want to play with, in each you’ll cook the pasta to al dente in salted boiling water to package instructions. Always reserve ½ cup of pasta water to add to the sauce at the end of cooking.

Malloreddus del Pastore (Sardinian Gnocchi with Sausage and Ricotta)

½ lbs whole milk Ricotta

¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino (recipe calls for Sardinian Pecorino, but in a pinch Romano will do)

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

½ lbs spicy pork sausage, casings removed

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 TB extra-virgin olive oil

In a bowl, mix cheeses and pepper, and beat until smooth.

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and cook sausage. Crumble with the back of a spoon or spatula, and turn to make sure pork browns and cooks through evenly (between 8-10 minutes). Add garlic and mix in for about a minute. Fold in pasta, the pasta liquid, and the cheese mixture stirring to coat pasta with sauce. Remove from heat and serve.

Note: there is no salt in the sausage mixture because there’s enough salt content in the cheeses and the pasta. To serve drizzle extra virgin olive oil over pasta.

Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sardinian Gnocchi with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Saffron)

½-1 lbs fresh tomatoes

½ cup of grated Pecorino

½ tsp saffron threads

½ cup water

1 onion

2-3 garlic cloves

1 lbs pork sausage

Extra-virgin olive oil

Basil leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Have a bowl of ice water on the side. Heat up water to a boil. Score the bottom of tomatoes with a knife and add to boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove from pot and immediately add to ice water. Reserve ½ cup of warm water, add saffron, and set aside.

Mince onion, garlic. Peel tomatoes (see note), chop into small pieces and set aside.

Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat, sauté garlic and onion until onion is translucent. Add sausage, brown lightly for 4-5 minutes and crumble. Add tomatoes and basil leaves, the saffron water, and salt and pepper to taste (it’s safer to under-season and adjust at the end). Stir and simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes.

Note: peeling the tomatoes is not absolutely necessary, and if you are skipping that step then do not boil or immerse in iced water. To serve, fold in pasta and Pecorino, stir to coat pasta in sauce and remove from heat. Drizzle with olive oil, garnish with fresh basil leaves and additional cheese and freshly ground pepper.