Pasta with potatoes is not only a popular southern Italian preparation – you'll also find the carb coupling, along with green beans, in traditional a Genovese pesto dish. This recipe combines malloreddus, a short pasta variety from Sardinia, with potatoes and rounds it out with ricotta and tomatoes, and finishes with a drizzle of mint sauce.
Malloreddus Pasta With Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Mint Sauce
Photo: Riccardo Lettieri, Styling: Beatrice Prada
Recipe Valeria Nozari
Skill Level Easy
Cooking Time 50 minutes
Ingredients for 4
14 oz./400 g. potatoes
7 oz./200 g. dried malloreddus
4 oz./100 g.sheep ricotta
4 oz./ 100 g. purée of yellow tomatoes
1 Tbsp./15 g. mint leaves
1 coppery tomato
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes.
Heat a drizzle of oil with a pinch of salt in a saucepan and brown the potatoes for 1 minute. Wet them with 1 glass of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 5-6 minutes, then add the yellow tomato purée and the malloreddus.
Cover with water and simmer, then partially cover the pot with the lid for when cooking the pasta. Switch off the heat and season with ground pepper.
Work the ricotta with a whisk, making it creamy by adding 1 Tbsp. oil, salt, and pepper.
Cut the tomato into cubes, removing the part with the seeds.
Blanch the mint in boiling salted water and then cool it in water and ice. Drain it and blend it with ½ cup/100 g. oil. Blanching will ensure the leaves maintain their bright green color.
Serve the malloreddus with ricotta, diced tomatoes, and the mint-flavored sauce.