Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sardinian Sausage and Sherry Gnocchi)

italian-pastaallacampidanese Tuck into this rich Sardinian dish of homemade semolina pasta swathed in an earthy pork ragù. Sardinia is a craggy island located just off the knee of Italy’s boot. And, as an island, seafood holds sway, but retreat inland and you’ll find a rich, farm-centered cuisine made up of hard durum wheat, mutton, sheeps’ milk cheese and wiry-haired porco sardo, a native breed of pig.

Malloreddus alla campidanese - pasta tossed in a rich ragù of tomato, fatty Sardinian pork sausage and a native sherry-like wine called vernaccia di Oristano - is a taste of this inland cuisine (Campidanese refers to the style of the sauce and is named after a plain on the island). While every family has their own iteration, the dish generally consists of little ridged pasta nuggets - the malloreddus - that are made from finely-ground semolina flour. Many recipes and restaurants refer to this pasta as Sardinian gnocchi (“gnochetti sardi”), though if you are expecting pillowy, light potato gnocchi, you are in for a surprise; instead, this style 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 ago, during trade with the Pheonicians; though the saffron crocus is still grown by Sardinian farmers today.

Sausage:
1½ lbs ground pork (680 g)
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. fennel seeds, coarsely ground
1 tsp. sea salt (3 g)
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (10 g)

Malloreddus:
10½ oz (~ 2 cups) finely ground semolina flour (300 g)
saffron powder, optional
5 oz water (150 mL)

Sausage Ragù:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (30 mL)
1 small yellow onion (5½ oz), finely chopped (156 g)
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced (10 g)
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1 bay leaf
7 saffron threads, or ¼ tsp. saffron powder
¼ cup vernaccia di Oristano, or fino sherry (60 mL)
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, such as Antonella, Alessi, or DeLallo (794 g)
1 tsp. sea salt (3 g)
4 oz water (120 mL)
2 oz (½ cup) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (60 g)

For the Sausage:
In a large bowl, combine ground pork, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, and garlic and, using your hands or a sturdy spatula, mix until thoroughly combined, sticky, and cohesive, about 1 minute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For the Malloreddus:
In a large bowl, whisk together semolina flour and a pinch of saffron powder (if using) until well combined. Using your hands, make a small well in the center of the flour, then pour 5 oz water into the well. Using your fingertips, gradually stir the flour into the water until it holds together in a single mass. Then, knead dough in the bowl until a cohesive ball forms, 1-2 minutes. Transfer dough ball to a work surface lightly dusted with semolina flour. Knead until dough is smooth and no dry flour remains, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Alternatively, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine semolina flour, a pinch of saffron powder (if using) and 5 oz water and mix on low speed until flour is fully moistened, about 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl, then continue kneading on low speed until a smooth ball forms and no dry flour remains, about 3 minutes. Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a rimmed baking sheet with semolina flour and set aside. On a clean work surface lightly dusted with semolina flour, roll dough into a roughly 12" long cylinder. Using a bench scraper, divide the cylinder into 8 equal portions and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Working with one portion at a time, roll into a long rope, about ¼" thick. Using a bench scraper, cut rope into roughly ¼" segments. Repeat with remaining portions, covering with plastic wrap as you go.

Use a gnocchi board, sushi mat, or fork to shape the gnocchi. To do so, hold one piece of dough with the cut-side facing you, then use your thumb to pull the dough along the ridges of the board, sushi mat, or fork (ridges should be vertical to the dough). The shaped dough will have a little indentation from your thumb and should resemble a tiny tube. Transfer malloreddus to prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and repeat with remaining dough, lightly dusting with additional flour as you go.

For the Sausage Ragù:
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add prepared sausage, using a wooden spoon to spread in an even layer across bottom of pot, and cook for 1 minute. Stir to break up sausage into ½" pieces.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and nearly translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, crushed red pepper, black pepper, bay leaf, and saffron and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in vernaccia di Oristano or sherry, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot, and cook until raw alcohol smell has mostly cooked off, about 1 minute.

Add canned tomatoes and their liquid, salt, and ½ cup water, then crush the whole tomatoes roughly with a spoon. Return to a simmer, reduce heat to low, partially cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove lid, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick and slightly darker in colour, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

To Assemble and Serve:
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of very well-salted water to a boil. Add malloreddus to boiling water and cook, stirring frequently, until they float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Using a spider skimmer or slotted spoon, scoop malloreddus and add directly to sausage ragù, along with ¼ cup (60 mL) pasta cooking water.

Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring gently, until malloreddus are coated in the slightly thickened sauce, about 1 minute. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately, passing more grated cheese at the table.

Cook's Notes:

If you don’t want to make the sausage, you can buy 1½ lbs (680 g) fresh sweet Italian sausage (about 6 sausage links), removed from the casing.
If you choose to make the sausage, I recommend asking your butcher for ground pork that’s a mix of dark and light meat.
For finely-ground semolina flour, I like King Arthur’s finely-ground durum flour (durum wheat is the varietal used to make semolina).

Make-Ahead and Storage:

To freeze uncooked shaped malloreddus, place pasta on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze until firm, then transfer to a zipper-lock bag or an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
The sausage ragù can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 6 months. We don’t recommend cooking the pasta and coating it in the ragù if you’re planning on storing it for a later time; the malloreddus will get soft and mushy.