Malloreddus alla Campidanese

Ingredients

• 400g malloreddus, or gnocchetti sardi
• 350g fresh Italian pork sausage, ideally with fennel
• 1 small onion
• 700g tomato passata
• 1 generous pinch saffron threads
• 80ml dry white wine
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 80g Pecorino Sardo, grated
• A few basil leaves
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Before you cook

• Slit the sausage skins and crumble the meat out into rough lumps
• Chop the onion finely
• Crush the saffron threads to a powder in a small bowl and soak them in 3 tablespoons of warm water

Steps

1. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat and soften the chopped onion for 6 minutes.
2. Add the crumbled sausage and brown it for 8 minutes, breaking it up but leaving some larger nuggets.
3. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble away for 2 minutes.
4. Add the passata and season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Simmer the sauce uncovered for 30 minutes, until it thickens and the fat rises to the surface.
6. Stir the soaked saffron and its water into the sauce for the last 5 minutes so its perfume is not boiled away.
7. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the malloreddus until al dente, usually 11 to 13 minutes.
8. Reserve a mugful of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
9. Tip the malloreddus into the sauce and toss over medium heat for a minute, loosening with pasta water.
10. Take the pan off the heat and stir through half the pecorino.
11. Serve with the remaining pecorino and a few torn basil leaves.