Sardinian Culurgiones with tomato sauce are a type of stuffed pasta typical of Sardinia with a characteristic ear shape, traditionally prepared for special occasions, but always with a positive meaning, as a sign of respect, friendship, or esteem.
Being a typical regional recipe, as always online, you can find dozens and dozens of recipes. I hope my Sardinian friends won’t mind if the one I’ve chosen doesn’t reflect their personal family recipe.
They are semolina, flour, and water ravioli stuffed with potatoes, fresh or aged Pecorino cheese. The filling can be enriched with mint leaves and flavored with oil.
The Sardinian ravioli have a characteristic half-moon shape, closed by pinching the dough with the fingers to form a cord-like design that resembles the end of an ear of wheat.
Made with ingredients always available in the pantry, this pasta has humble origins.
As with all traditional preparations, there are numerous variations of the filling for Sardinian ravioli: the recipes are jealously guarded by each family.
The most commonly used sauce to accompany culurgiones is a simple tomato sauce enriched with fresh Pecorino cheese.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 6/8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Sardinian Culurgiones with Tomato Sauce
- 3 1/4 cups remilled durum wheat semolina flour
- 1 cup water (room temperature, add more if needed)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.2 lbs potatoes
- 3 1/2 oz Sardinian Pecorino cheese (aged)
- 8 leaves mint
- 4 1/4 oz Sardinian Pecorino cheese (fresh)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 17 1/2 oz tomato puree
- 1 clove garlic
- basil
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Tools
- Pot
- Potato Ricer
- Pastry Board
- Pasta Machines
- Bowl
- Kitchen Scales
- Pastry Cutter
- Casserole
Steps for Sardinian Culurgiones with Tomato Sauce
First thing. Infuse the garlic clove in the oil overnight or heat it in a pan without frying. This will give aroma to the oil for the filling.
Boil the potatoes with their skin in salted boiling water.
Once peeled, mash the potatoes gradually adding the Evo oil, Pecorino (fresh and aged), mint, and mix well.
Add the garlic-flavored oil.
In this case, as you have seen, I didn’t add salt because the Pecorino already provides the right flavor.
For the dough, mix the flours with a pinch of salt, water, and a couple of tablespoons of Evo oil.
Knead for about 15-20 minutes until it becomes smooth, elastic, and homogeneous.
If the dough is too soft, add a bit of semolina; if too firm, add a bit of water. Form a ball and let it rest covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes.
After the resting time, take a piece of dough and flatten it slightly with your hands using a bit of flour.
Pass it through the pasta machine starting from the widest setting.
Roll out the dough, making several passes to make it about 1/8 inch thick.
With a circular pastry cutter of 2 3/4 inches in diameter (a glass also works), cut out circles; place a big-walnut-sized ball of filling in the center; gently hold it between your index finger and thumb, and start sealing from right to left the small edges of the dough.
Continue.
Proceed until all the filling is used (re-kneading the pasta scraps before they dry out).
Once ready, cook them in salted boiling water, and dress with a simple fresh tomato sauce!
If desired, serve them with a bit of grated Pecorino cheese.
Once all the dough is finished, and all the culurgiones are prepared, make a light tomato sauce by quickly sautéing garlic and oil, then adding tomato puree, salt, and basil.
Meanwhile, cook the culurgiones, a few at a time, in salted boiling water for about 5-6 minutes (depending on the dough thickness): when they float, you can drain them.
Arrange the culurgiones on the plate, dress with tomato sauce, garnish with fresh basil, and serve.
Enjoy your meal.
Tips and Advice
Make sure the pasta is rolled out thin enough. Otherwise, the closure part would be too chewy.
Be generous with the filling. Culurgiones are quite rich.
When you’ve placed the dough disc on your hand with the filling, move the lower edge towards the dough and press.
Now grab two small edges of dough on the sides, pinch them, and close them gently squeezing them into the filling.
Remove any excess filling and then elongate the tips.
Here’s the link on how to best store fresh pasta: how to blanch fresh pasta.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Storage
Once ready, before boiling them, you can store your culurgiones in the fridge well covered, for a couple of days.
Or you can freeze them: arrange them on trays, and when they are frozen, collect them in freezer bags. You can boil them directly from frozen, extending the cooking time by a few minutes.
