Photography: Dave Brown
This gnocchi dish is full of flavour thanks to its simple combination of classic ingredients from the land. It’s also a very quick and comforting pasta for a cold winter day. It has the richness of ragu without the need to spend too much time in front of the stove. It’s also a great way to introduce more legumes into your diet – which is a staple of Sardinian cuisine. This sauce is served with gnocchi but you can easily substitute this and pair it with your favourite short pasta.
Ingredients
Method
If using dried beans, rinse them under running water, then place in a large bowl, cover with water and leave to soak overnight. The next day, drain the beans and rinse them again under running water. Fill a large saucepan with cold water, add the beans and bring to the boil. Cook for 1–2 hours over a low heat until soft.
Put the pancetta into a large frying pan over a medium heat and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
If using fresh tomatoes, dice them and remove the cores. Make sure to reserve all the juice to use in the sauce.
Add the shallot to the pan with the pancetta and add a drizzle of oil if needed, then cook for 2 minutes before adding the sage and garlic and continue cooking for 1–2 minutes, stirring often to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the water and the cooked borlotti beans. Season with salt and black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken and has the consistency and richness of a ragu.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the ladeddos or gnocchi. They are ready as soon as they float to the top of the water. At the same time, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning.
Drain the ladeddos, reserving a cup of the water. Add the ladeddos to the sauce and stir well. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the water to loosen it, or if it’s too thin, carry on cooking it until it reduces slightly.
Divide the laddedos and sauce between plates and serve immediately, sprinkled with pecorino if you wish.
Potato gnocchi
Serves 4
1kg floury (starchy) potatoes, cleaned well (try to use potatoes of a similar size)
300g semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
Fine sea salt
1. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then cook for 30–45 minutes until a fork or knife slides all the way through with no resistance. If some are ready before others, take them out and set them aside.2. Leave the potatoes to cool and steam-dry (this will remove any excess moisture), then remove the skins. Using a potato ricer or masher, rice the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle over the semolina and season well with salt.
3. With clean hands, squeeze the mixture together until there is no more dry flour. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead for a few minutes until it comes together. You shouldn’t need extra semolina at this point, but depending on the potatoes, you may need to add a little more if the dough is still a bit too sticky. Stop kneading the dough as soon as it comes together – the more you work it, the stickier it will become, and you’ll end up adding too much flour.
4. Use a dough scraper to help gather bits of dough and flour from your work surface. Shape the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Once rested, divide the dough into four equal pieces. Sprinkle a bit of semolina on the work surface and roll each piece into a sausage about 2cm thick. Gently pat each one a little to make it flat, then use a knife or a dough scraper to cut off 2.5cm pieces on the diagonal, creating rhombus shapes. As you go, transfer the gnocchi (ladeddos) to a large tray dusted with semolina. Keep them covered with a dry tea towel or plastic wrap. Use on the same day or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
6. To cook the gnocchi, bring a saucepan of salted water to a gentle boil and cook for 2–3 minutes, or until they start to float to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to lift them out and add them directly to your chosen sauce.
Tips Starting the potatoes in cold water ensures that they cook evenly all the way through. If you drop them directly into boiling water, the outside may cook too quickly while the inside remains hard. The best potatoes to use are old potatoes as they contain less water, which means you will use less flour, making the gnocchi nice and soft.
This is an edited extract from ‘Eat Like a Sardinian’ by Francesco Mattana, with photography by Dave Brown, published by Murdoch Books, $45.
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