Malloreddus with Sausage & Fennel Seed Ragu

Malloreddus with Sausage & Fennel Seed Ragu

I first enjoyed a steaming bowl of this perfect marriage between gnocchi and pasta when I was high up a hill in Italy. We had been driving through a particularly beautiful vineyard when the heavens opened. We decided to pull over and take refuge in a pretty trattoria, which on a better day would have had far-reaching views of acres of vines. Inside, the wood fire was lit, and the restaurant was filled with the scent of woodsmoke and cooking. Tables were packed with families and groups of men. Red wine flowed freely. It was heaven.

The name malloreddus loosely translates to 'fat little calves', describing the wonderful shape of these perfectly starchy sauce vessels.

Ingredients

Spring · Serves 2

  • 400g (14oz)

    semolina flour or finely ground durum wheat flour, plus extra for dusting

  • 200ml (7fl oz)

    warm water

  • a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

  • 1

    onion, finely chopped

  • 3

    garlic cloves, chopped

  • 1 tsp

    fennel seeds

  • ½ tsp

    smoked paprika

  • 2

    bay leaves

  • 1 sprig

    rosemary

  • 4

    pork sausages, removed from their skins

  • 100ml (3½fl oz)

    good red wine

  • 400g (14oz)

    Preserved Tomatoes (see page 71)

  • 3 tbsp

    whole milk

  • flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • hard cheese, grated, to serve (I like to use pecorino or an English hard cheese, such as Old Winchester)

Buy available ingredients
Recipe image

Method

To make the malloreddus, tip the flour into a mound on a clean work surface and add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre large enough to contain the water, then gently pour the water into the well. Using your fingers, gradually mix the flour into the water, slowly incorporating the flour from the sides of the well. As the mixture thickens, use a scraper to scrape up all the flour and add it to the dough. Knead the dough for around 8–9 minutes, until it becomes springy. Once smooth and bouncy, wrap the dough and leave to rest for about an hour.

Once the dough has rested, it's time to shape the malloreddus. Cut off a piece of dough and roll it into a thin cylinder, around 7mm (⅜in) in diameter. Chop this into pieces around 2.5cm (1in) long. Repeat this process until you have used all the dough. Using a ridged gnocchi board, drag the dough pieces down the board with your thumb, one at a time, creating ridged little curls. Leave the shapes to dry out on a tray sprinkled with semolina flour while you make the ragu.

To make the ragu, set a cast-iron casserole pan over a medium-low heat. Drizzle in a glug of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic along with the fennel seeds, paprika, bay leaves and rosemary for 7–8 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the sausage meat, allowing it to sizzle and brown. Turn the heat up a little more, then add the wine and watch it bubble and evaporate for a few minutes.

Turn the heat back down to medium–low and add the tomatoes, followed by the milk. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Set to one side and keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Set a pan of heavily salted boiling water over a high heat. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add the pasta to the pan. The shells will float to the top of the pan once cooked, which should take around 3 minutes.

Drain the pasta, add to the ragu and toss through the sauce. Ladle generous servings into warmed bowls. Finish with a drizzle of really good olive oil and a grating or two of hard cheese.
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