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ITALIAN RECIPES

Sardinian Cooking

Sardinian gnocchi, with a beef sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/8 pounds (500 g) semolina
A pinch of saffron, dissolved in a little warm water
Salt
12 ounces minced pork or beef
Half a medium onion, minced
3 ounces (80 g) ground cured lard (use prosciutto or pancetta fat if need be)
A pound (500 g) ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped and drained (canned will also work)
Salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated pecorino sardo (use Tuscan pecorino or Parmigiano if you cannot find sardo; romano will be too sharp)

Preparation:

Begin my making the gnocchi: Combine a pinch of salt, the semolina, the saffron water, and just enough additional warm water to obtain a firm, smooth, compact dough. Roll the dough out into snakes about half the thickness of a finger and cut them into pieces about the size of a chickpea. Let them dry on a screen.

In the meantime, see to the sauce: Set a pot on the fire and heat the ground lard until the fat melts, then add the onion and cook over a gentle flame until it has turned golden and wilted. Add the meat and cook for about a half hour more, and then add the tomatoes. Check seasoning and continue simmering until the tomatoes are done and the sauce has thickened -- for at least another half hour.
Check seasoning again.

Heat abundant water in another pot and salt it when it comes to a boil; add the ciciones, stir lest they stick to the bottom of the pot, and cook them until they rise up to the surface (taste one to check for doneness).

Skim them off with a slotted strainer, draining them well, and put them in a serving bowl. Gently stir the sauce into them, dust them with freshly grated cheese, and serve them with more cheese for those who want it.

Lemony Tuna

Ingredients:

A fresh tuna fillet weighing about 1 1/3 pounds (600 g), cut into half-inch (1.2 cm) rounds
A small onion, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 lemon slices, cut into wedges (use an organic lemon if possible)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine a scant half cup of water (200 ml) with the lemon juice, parsley, and oil, and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Marinate the tuna in the liquid for three hours.

When the marinating time is almost up, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
Put the fish in a pan, sprinkle the onion and some of the marinade over it, season lightly with salt and pepper, and roast it for 20-25 minutes. Transfer the fish to a serving dish, decorate it with the lemon wedges, spoon the pan drippings over it, and serve.
The wine? White, and a Verdicchio would be nice.

Sardinian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds (1 k) beef
An onion, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/3 pounds (600 g) potatoes10 ounces (250 g) ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, chopped, seeded, drained and blended
2 ladles beef broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Shredded hot pepper to taste (optional)

Preparation:

Cube the meat, and peel and cube the potatoes.
In a broad terracotta pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion until it turns golden. Add the meat and brown it too, stirring the pieces about to brown all sides.

Add the blended tomatoes, broth, check seasoning, and reduce the heat to the barest simmer for a couple of hours or more, adding the potatoes after an hour. Should the sauce thicken too much, dilute it with a little more broth.

You can, if you want, also give it zing with some freshly shredded hot pepper.
Serve it steaming hot, with a Vermentino if you include the hot pepper, and with a Cannonau if you don't.

Sardinian Ravioli with Greens

Ingredients:

For the Filling
1 1/8 pounds (500 g) fresh ricotta
1/2 teaspoon sugar
The grated zest of half a lemon
A handful of cooked greens (spinach, beet, or collard), minced
An egg
3 tablespoons flour
A pinch of saffron, dissolved in a little warm water
For the Pasta
10 ounces (250 g, or about 1 1/2 cups) semolina
4/5 cup (100 g) flour
An egg
A pinch of saffron, dissolved in a little warm water
A pinch of salt
For The Sauce
1 pound ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped and drained
1/2 cup olive oil
Half a medium onion, shredded
Several basil leaves, also shredded
Freshly grated pecorino sardo (use Tuscan pecorino or Parmigiano if you cannot find sardo; romano will be too sharp)

Preparation:

Begin with the filling: crush the ricotta with the tines of a fork, then mix into it the sugar, lemon zest, egg, greens, saffron, and flour. Mix well.
Next, the pasta: Combine the semolina and the flour, crack the egg into it, mix in the saffron water, and add just enough lightly salted water to make it into a dough (see instructions if need be). Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Let the dough rest for a half hour, then spread it dime-thin. Dot half the surface of the sheet with teaspoons of the filling, and fold the other half over it. Tamp the sheet down around the filling and cut the ravioli free with a serrated pasta wheel.

Next, the sauce: Heat the oil in a pot, sauté the onions until they are golden and translucent, then add the tomatoes, check seasoning, and simmer the sauce gently.
Finally, the cooking. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, and gently slip some of the ravioli into it. They'll be done when they rise to the surface (taste a pinch off one to be sure the pasta is indeed al dente), at which point you should gently remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a heated serving dish.

Sprinkle them with sauce and grated cheese, cook the next batch, repeat the process, and continue until all is used up.
Buon appetito!

Buon appetito!

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