Malloreddus alla Campidanese

Malloreddus alla Campidanese is a pasta dish that comes from Sardegna. It’s basically a sausage and tomato ragu with saffron and onions that is finished with pecorino cheese. Malloreddus is a short pasta that looks a little like cavatelli and is usually made with semolina flour, water, and saffron. Some alternative pasta shapes that would work well in this dish include gnocchi, cavatelli, fusilli, penne rigate, rigatoni, and pappardelle.

This pasta is delicious and it all comes together in about 30 minutes.

4 servings

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
15 g. garlic, thinly sliced
200 g. red onions, diced
285 g. sweet Italian sausage (roughly two links, removed from the casing)
1–28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes (passed through a food mill, pureed, or crushed by hand)
.5 g. saffron threads bloomed in 3 T. hot water
228 g. dried malloreddus or other pasta cooked per instructions on the package–drained and cooled
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
12 leaves of fresh basil
1 c. grated pecorino cheese (more or less to your liking)

1. Film a saucepan with the olive oil and add the garlic and onions. Sweat until they are tender–a little color is fine.

2. Add the sausage and cook, stirring often to keep breaking the sausage up until most of the pink color is gone.

3. Add the saffron and the soaking water along with the canned tomatoes.

4. Add the salt and pepper and bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until it has reduced by 25% and has thickened.

5. Add the pasta to the sauce and allow the pasta to heat through and absorb a little of the sauce.

6. Add the basil leaves and stir to combine.

7. Spoon equal amounts of the pasta and sauce into 4 bowls, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and top with pecorino cheese.

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