malloreddus with sausage

malloreddus con salsiccia

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour, 25 minutes

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

A subtle hint of saffron makes all the difference in this hearty sausage and tomato sauce. Malloreddus are tiny dumplings that resemble cavatelli and are often called gnocchetti sardi. Their texture is especially welcome when served with a chunky sauce because the shape grabs bits of sausage and onion and tomato making each bite delicious. If you don't have malloreddus, know that the sauce would be delicious with farfalle or even gnocchi, too.

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Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
Heaping 1/8 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 (28-ounce can) whole peeled tomatoes with juices, preferably San Marzano
1/2 cup dry white wine
Fine sea salt
500 grams (1.1 pounds) fresh malloreddus or dried malloreddus (available at
some supermarkets and specialty stores)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus more for serving

Instructions

Remove sausage from casing; break meat apart a bit. Combine saffron and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add sausage, reduce heat to medium and cook, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and wine; cook, breaking up tomatoes, for 5 minutes. Add saffron mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently simmer sauce until thickened and flavorful, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 6 minutes after water returns to a boil for fresh malloreddus). Meanwhile, gently warm sauce. When pasta is al dente, drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, immediately add sauce and toss to combine. Add cheese and toss once more. Serve immediately, passing extra cheese at the table.

October 2010

keywords:

pasta, meat sauce, sausage

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Comments [4] | Add your comment

The texture of the pasta was awesome. Dumplings!. I see this little pasta has a home in many dishes. I cut my recipe in half and had more control over the dough. I found the gluten from the all purpose flour added the elasticity i needed to roll the dough into the cylinder

Posted: October 10, 2012 13:37 by blacksheep
Very good. Used Cavatelli. Next time may add saffron to the wine and cut out the water. This way the sauce is a little thicker.

Posted: September 29, 2012 09:33 by rpparisi
Recipe calls for 1 pound sweet Italian (first ingredient in the list).
Posted: September 13, 2010 12:12 by joannesmart
Would you please specifiy the type of, and amount of sausage to be used in this dish?
Posted: September 11, 2010 11:30 by jshanes