Culurgiones d'Ogliastra

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden board for kneading and rolling
• •Rolling pin (a straight dowel works well for semolina dough)
• •10-centimeter round cutter or drinking glass
• •Potato ricer or food mill
• •Wide shallow pan for the sauce
• •Slotted spoon for removing pasta

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mound the semolina on a wooden board and make a well in the center. Add the warm water, olive oil, and salt to the well. Using a fork, begin incorporating the flour from the inner walls of the well, working in circles until a shaggy mass forms. Knead with the heel of your hand for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, firm, and slightly tacky. This is not northern egg pasta. Semolina dough requires strength. Wrap tightly in plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

   The dough should feel stiffer than egg pasta. This firmness is necessary for the closure technique. If it crumbles, add water by the teaspoon. If it sticks, add semolina sparingly.
2. 2

   Prepare the potatoes

   Boil the potatoes whole in their skins until a knife pierces them easily, about 40 minutes depending on size. Drain immediately. While still hot enough to handle, peel and pass through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl. The potatoes must be riced while hot. Cold potatoes turn gluey. Let the riced potatoes cool to room temperature, spreading them to release steam.

3. 3

   Make the filling

   To the cooled potatoes, add the grated pecorino sardo, minced garlic paste, chopped mint, olive oil, and salt. Mix thoroughly with your hands until completely homogeneous. The mixture should hold together when squeezed but not be wet. Taste and adjust salt. The pecorino provides salinity, so proceed cautiously. The garlic should whisper, not shout.

   The mint is essential. In Ogliastra, they use nepitella (wild mint), which has a more delicate flavor. Regular mint works, but use a light hand. The filling should taste of potato and cheese first, with mint as a fragrant undertone.
4. 4

   Roll the dough

   Divide the rested dough into four portions. Work with one at a time, keeping others covered. Roll each portion thin, about 2 millimeters. This is thinner than you expect. The dough is sturdy and can take it. Cut rounds using a 10-centimeter cutter or the rim of a glass. Gather scraps, knead briefly, rest five minutes, and re-roll.

5. 5

   Fill the culurgiones

   Place a generous tablespoon of filling slightly off-center on each round, toward the bottom third. The filling should be a smooth mound, not a flat disc. Fold the top edge of the dough down toward you, covering the filling, letting the bottom edge remain exposed. Press firmly around the filling to seal the base and remove air pockets.

6. 6

   Form the wheat-stalk closure

   Here is where patience matters. Starting at one corner of the sealed base, pinch a small fold of the top layer of dough and press it down to seal against the bottom. Move to the opposite side and do the same, overlapping slightly with the first pinch. Continue alternating sides, working upward, each pinch overlapping the previous one like braiding. The pattern should resemble a wheat stalk. Pinch the top closed firmly. The closure is not decoration. It seals the pasta completely.

   Your first dozen will look imperfect. This is correct. Sardinian grandmothers have pinched thousands. Watch videos to understand the motion, then practice. The taste remains the same whether the braid is beautiful or awkward.
7. 7

   Make the tomato sauce

   While shaping the culurgiones, prepare a simple sauce. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic clove and cook until fragrant, about one minute. The garlic must not color. Add the crushed tomatoes and basil leaves. Simmer gently for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove and discard the garlic clove. Season with salt.

8. 8

   Cook the culurgiones

   Bring abundant salted water to a gentle boil. Lower the heat so the water simmers rather than rolls violently. Culurgiones are delicate despite their firm dough. Add them in batches of eight to ten. They will sink, then rise. Cook two minutes after they float. Remove with a slotted spoon directly to the waiting sauce.

   A rolling boil will tear the braided closure apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Handle them as you would filled pasta everywhere: with respect for the work that went into them.
9. 9

   Serve immediately

   Toss the cooked culurgiones gently in the tomato sauce to coat. Transfer to warm shallow bowls, six per serving. Grate aged pecorino sardo generously over the top. Serve promptly. The closure, the filling, the sauce: all of this work deserves to be eaten at its best.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out semola di grano duro rimacinata, the finely milled version. Coarse semolina creates a grainy dough that fights the rolling pin.
• •The filling must cool completely before use. Warm filling makes the dough sticky and tears the closure. Patience.
• •In Sardinia, culurgiones are also served with just olive oil and pecorino, no tomato. This simpler dressing lets the filling speak. Try it both ways.
• •Shaped culurgiones freeze well on a parchment-lined tray, then transferred to bags. Cook directly from frozen, adding one minute to the cooking time.
• •The pecorino sardo matters. Pecorino Romano is sharper and saltier. If substituting, reduce the amount and taste the filling before adding salt.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated, tightly wrapped. Bring to room temperature before rolling.
• •The filling can be prepared one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and stir well before using.
• •Shaped culurgiones freeze beautifully for up to two months. Freeze in a single layer until solid, then transfer to freezer bags. Do not thaw before cooking.
• •The tomato sauce can be made three days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm gently before tossing with the cooked pasta.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)