Mimi Thorisson is the nomadic author of the just-released Old World Italian: Recipes & Secrets from Our Travels in Italy where she and her very large family traverse the country from end to end discovering the best of Italian cuisine. For lovers of classic regional dishes, the book is a must-buy with simple recipes and travel nuggets that you leave you both salivating and green with culinary adventure envy. Lucky for you (and us), Thorisson was happy to share one of her favorite recipes, which is a Sardinian Ragù with Saffron Tagliatelle. You can almost smell it off the page and will have you booking a trip to Italy the moment you’re allowed to fly again.
Excerpt from the book:
I’ve come to the conclusion that I could write a whole book with a hundred ragus and they would all be different and all delicious. But that‘s another book. A ragù Bolognese was always going to be included for obvious reasons, and for the longest time a Neapolitan ragu—which has much more tomatoes and onions than a Bolognese ragu and uses a whole piece of meat rather than ground—was also in my lineup. That is until I started experimenting with this one. This ragu is made with fennel-flavored pork sausages, which I love on their own, and like a Neapolitan ragu, it’s heavy on tomatoes. One of the key differences here is the addition of cinnamon which transforms the sauce. Last May, I made this ragu for my husband‘s birthday, along with fresh saffron flavored pasta. Basically we made it with tagliatelle, but I have this wonderful pasta cutting tool that makes the edges look like jewelry.
Sardinian Ragù
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cinnamon stick
1 pound / 450 g fennel sausage, casings removed
1 can (8 ounces / 230 g) cherry tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 1 tablespoon warm water
½ teaspoon ground saffron powder
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
saffron tagliatelle (recipe follows) or 1 pound / 450 g pasta of your choice
Method:
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon, and sausage meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until the meat is browned. Add the cherry tomatoes and gently mash them up to make a sauce. Stir in the saffron threads and season with salt and pepper. When the mixture comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Shake off any excess flour from the tagliatelle, then add to the boiling water. Cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving one ladle of cooking water.
Heat the pan with the ragù over medium-high heat. Add one ladle of cooking water, and gently mix in the tagliatelle. To serve, twirl one serving inside of a soup ladle to get the perfect swirl, then gently place it onto the plate. Repeat with the remaining pasta.
Saffron Tagliatelle
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
400 g 00 flour
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon warm water with 2 teaspoons saffron threads and ½ teaspoon ground saffron powder
Rice flour, for dusting
Method:
Mound the flour in the center of a work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs. Using a fork, beat the eggs gently together. Slowly incorporate the flour starting with the inner sides of the well.
When the dough begins to come together, add the saffron mixture, and start kneading using the palms of your hands with a back and forth motion. Use the dough scraper to scrape any bits around the pasta dough to tidy your work surface, as dried-out dough will interfere with your pasta making. The dough is ready when it is elastic and the surface gently “comes back to you” when you press, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place the dough in the coolest part of your kitchen in a large bowl and cover with a lid, a cotton cloth, or a plate. Set aside for an hour. You can also prepare the dough the day before, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Just bring it back to room temperature before rolling.
When ready to roll out the dough, dust your work surface and rolling pin lightly with rice flour.
Cut a piece of dough (the equivalent of a handful), press with the palm of your hand onto the work surface, and roll out with the rolling pin, about ½ inch thick. Set the pasta machine at its thickest setting and roll the pasta dough through it. Switch the pasta machine’s setting to the next thinnest setting and roll the pasta dough through again. Continue switching the settings lower and lower, until you get a smooth and perfectly thin sheet of pasta. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Dust a baking sheet with rice flour. Place the pasta sheet on your floured work surface. You will now have one long, thin sheet of pasta, ready for cutting. Cut the sheet to your preferred length (16 to 20 inches / 40 to 50 cm is about right), then dust lightly with flour and pass through the pasta machine using the tagliatelle attachment. Place loosely gathered bundles of tagliatelle on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process for the remaining pasta dough. At this stage, the pasta can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours under plastic wrap. You can also freeze individual portions for up to 2 to 3 months, making sure they are well wrapped up.