Malloreddus with Sausage

• 1 lbs sweet or hot Italian sausage
• Heaping 1/8 tsp crushed saffron threads
• 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 (28 oz. can) whole peeled tomatoes with juices.
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Sea Salt
• 1 lbs fresh Malloreddus or dried from the store
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus more for serving

Remove sausage from casing, break meat apart a bit. Combine saffron and ¼ cup water in a small bowl

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat, add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. 5 to 6 minutes. Add sausage, and cook, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, add wine, cook, breaking up tomatoes for 5 minutes. (Sometimes dump the tomatoes and juice in a large bowl and roughly break them up with my hands)

Add saffron mixture and ¼ tsp salt. Gently simmer sauce until thickened and flavorful, 45 to 50, minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 6 minutes for fresh Malloreddus). Meanwhile, gently warm sauce. When pasta is al dente, drain, transfer to a large bowl, immediately add sauce and toss to combine. Add cheese and toss once more. Serve immediately with extra cheese.

Malloreddus

• Sea Salt
• 1 ¼ cups semolina flour
• ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• Extra virgin olive oil

Gnocchi board or a table fork

Dissolve 1 tsp salt in ¾ cup warm water. In a large bowl whisk together semolina and all purpose flour; mound and form a well in the center.

Add water mixture and 2 tsp olive oil to the well. Using your hand or a fork, slowly incorporate flour from inside the rim of the well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead in bowl until dough forms a complete mass (dough will be slightly sticky).

Transfer dough to a well floured work surface and knead, dusting with a bit more flour as needed just to keep dough from sticking to your hands, for 5 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Break off about 1/8 of the dough; tightly rewrap remaining dough. Roll dough into ½ inch cylinder, and cut into ¼ inch thick pieces. Pressing with your thumb, roll each piece on a gnocchi board (or down the back of a fork) to give it the characteristic ridges, and put on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To cook fresh Malloreddus, bring a large pot of salted water to a bill. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 6 minutes after water returns to a boil. Drain, transfer to a large serving bowl and immediately toss with sauce and serve.