Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sardinian Ragù)

There are many regional varieties of Ragù – a meaty sauce, each with its own pasta pairing, naturally – Ragù alla Bolognese, which barely contains any tomato and is served with tagliatelle (very different from ‘spag bol’); Ragù Napoletano, which is heavy on tomato and contains whole chunks of meat that are served as a separate course; and Ragù Genovese, a white-based (i.e. less tomato, more onion) ragù from Naples, despite its name; to name a few. All of these require some time to stew.

Sardinian Ragù is quick, partly because it uses fennel-flavoured pork sausages, which are already seasoned. Notes of saffron, cinnamon and cacao powder speak to the historical Spanish and Arab influences on this island, located between Tunisia and the French island of Corsica. Unlike most of the other recipes in this series, this sauce can be prepared in advance, and freezes well if you cook a larger batch.

Ingredients

Serves 2

15 ml extra-virgin olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon unsweetened cacao powder

200 g fennel sausage, casing removed (or plain pork sausages plus fennel seeds)

100 g lamb mince

100 ml dry red or white wine

200 g canned cherry tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon saffron thread, soaked in 1 tablespoon warm water

10 g fine sea salt (for cooking the pasta)

Freshly ground black pepper

*200 g pasta

**Pecorino Sardo to grate on top

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until translucent.

2. Add the cinnamon, cacao powder, lamb mince and sausage meat, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon until the meat is browned and cooked through. Add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate.

3. Bring a large pot with at least 2 litres of water to a rolling boil. Adjust the amount of salt if using more water.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and gently mash them into a sauce. Stir in the saffron threads and season with salt and pepper. Once the mixture comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low.

5. Add 10g salt and the pasta to the cooking water as it reaches the boil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.

6. Cook the sauce, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until thickened, or at least 15 minutes.

7. Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of cooking water. Mix the pasta into the sauce. Taste and correct for salt– if too salty or dry, add some pasta water.

8. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately with grated pecorino on top.

Notes

• *Traditionally, this is served with Malloreddus, or ‘gnocchetti sardi’, which are pasta shaped like small shells. They can be hand made with flour and water, but orecchiette works too. Some pasta can be difficult to cook through (trofie, I’m looking at you!) and this is one such shape. Specifically, the trouble is that the shells tend to lock together, so it's worth ensuring that they are all loose and separated when cooking.

• **Pecorino Sardo has a milder, slightly smoky flavour than Pecorino Romano, but the latter (or Parmigiano) can be substituted as the cheese is simply grated on top.