A thumbprint in Sardinian pasta
Small ridged shells take shape under the thumb.
The regional tourism guide describes pieces of flour-and-water dough pressed against a wicker basket. The gesture gives malloreddus their shell shape and ridges.
Malloreddus
Malloreddus are small, ridged Sardinian pasta shapes also known as gnocchetti sardi.
- Shape
- Small ridged shapes
- Try with
- Campidanese sausage ragù
Ridges made with the thumb
The regional tourism account describes small pieces of flour-and-water dough pressed with the thumb against the bottom of a wicker basket to form their shape and ridges. De Cecco also describes using a grooved board. These are documented shaping examples, not a single rule for every pasta maker.
Malloreddus in Campidano
The guide associates the name malloreddus with Campidano and records different local names elsewhere in Sardinia.
SardiniaA Campidanese sauce for the ridges
SardegnaTurismo describes malloreddus alla campidanese with sausage ragù and also an accompaniment of melted pecorino. De Cecco explicitly identifies its gnocchetti sardi as malloreddus. Try the Campidanese direction when you want a documented Sardinian sauce beside the little ridged shapes.
Questions worth asking
Are they potato gnocchi?
No. They are flour-and-water pasta.
What shapes the ridges?
In the described hand method, a wicker basket.
How are they served alla campidanese?
With a sausage meat sauce.
Worth knowing next
- OrecchietteOur suggestion: compare Orecchiette: small concave disks, with turnip tops, anchovies and chili as a starting point.
- TrofieOur suggestion: compare Trofie: tapered twists, with pesto, potatoes and green beans as a starting point.
- Maccheroni alla ChitarraOur suggestion: compare Maccheroni alla Chitarra: square-section long strands, with tomato with small meatballs as a starting point.
