This time in the kitchen I was together with Maria Elena, a friend who really has a lot to teach about traditional food. Let’s say that she has ‘magical hands’ because she manages to create little culinary masterpieces, such as Sardinian Culurgiones ravioli.
Thanks to her Sardinian roots, she wanted to propose some traditional recipes that I have reinterpreted in a gluten free way.
We will discover them little by little, but today we are beginning from an extremely tasty first course: gluten-free Sardinian Culurgiones.
So let’s get started… hands in the dough! And if you like homemade pasta, you can also try Pisarei e fasò.
Gluten-free Sardinian Culurgiones
27.5g carbohydrates per 100g raw Culurgiones
Ingredients for the dough
- 500g gluten-free fresh pasta mix, brand Nutrifree**
- 320g water
- 8g xanthan gum*
- 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients for the filling
- 500g fresh sweet Pecorino cheese, grated
- 400g boiled and mashed potatoes
- 30g medium-aged Pecorino cheese, grated
- 30g extra virgin olive oil
- 10g chopped mint
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- milk and salt
**Ingredients specific for celiacs
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation of gluten free Sardinian Culurgiones
- Prepare the dough by mixing flour, xanthan gum and water. In no time, you will obtain a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest.
The dough for Culurgiones
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
- Place the grated cheese and the mashed potatoes in a bowl and mix well to form an even mixture. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and as soon as it is hot, add the chopped garlic.
Let it rest for a minute, then pour the aromatic oil over the potato mixture and sprinkle with Pecorino cheese.
Mix well, add salt to taste and, if the mixture is too thick, soften it with a few tablespoons of warm milk.
- Now take the dough and roll it out with a pasta sheeter to the last-but-one hole; with an 8cm diameter pastry cutter, cut circles.
The discs for making Culurgiones
5. With the help of a teaspoon or your hands, place the filling in the centre of the disc, then close the Culurgiones in the shape of a ‘spike’, i.e. pinch the outside starting from the right end or simply pinch the disc edges together to make them stick well and cut them off with a toothed cutter.
The closing of the Culurgiones
- Bring the water to the boil, salt it lightly and gently toss in the Culurgiones.
The pinched closure of Culurgiones
- After a few minutes, drain them and dress them with melted butter, grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, or tomato sauce and cheese.
Culurgiones ready to be eaten
Version with gluten of Sardinian Culurgiones
Replace the gluten free Nutrifree flour with semolina and knead it without xanthan and with the necessary amount of water to obtain a smooth, elastic dough.
