Italian · Dinner

Malloreddus alla Campidanese

Ridged saffron gnocchetti with a sausage and tomato sauce. Sardinia's everyday pasta, and the ridges exist to hold the sauce.

1 hr 20 min total Serves 6 servings Easy
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Malloreddus alla Campidanese

Photograph credit: Malloreddus by Marica Massaro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence

Malloreddus alla Campidanese, Step by Step

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  1. Steep the saffron in the warm stock for 10 minutes.

  2. Soften the onion in the oil for 8 minutes, then add the crumbled sausage and brown it hard for 10 minutes, breaking it up small.

  3. Add the fennel seeds and cook 1 minute.

  4. Pour in the wine and let it reduce away almost completely.

  5. Add the passata, the saffron with its liquid, the salt and pepper. Simmer 40 minutes until thick and darkened.

  6. Boil the malloreddus in well-salted water until al dente, about 12 minutes, and drain, keeping a cup of the water.

  7. Toss the pasta through the sauce with a splash of the water and half the pecorino, then serve with the rest of the cheese and the basil.

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Small Things That Help

  • Bloom the saffron in warm liquid first.
  • Crumble the sausage, never slice it.
  • The ridges hold the sauce — do not substitute a smooth shape.

Ingredient Swaps

  • A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Serving Suggestions

  • A glass of Cannonau
  • Green salad
  • Crusty bread

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Rosemary Focaccia, Creamy Parmesan Polenta, Ciabatta.

Storing & Reheating Malloreddus alla Campidanese

The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months. Cook the pasta fresh.

Nutrition per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .