Culurjones

Culurjones

Duration: 1 h               
       
 Difficolty: hard                 

 Region: Sardinia

The Culurjones are a type of stuffed pasta typical of Sardinia. dell'Ogliastra originate, they have gradually spread across the region, becoming one of the most popular Sardinian recipes by all. The culurjones are similar to the large ravioli stuffed with potatoes and mint, all served with pecorino cheese (though the ingrendienti zone can vary in the area), but the most obvious feature that distinguishes them most is the spighitta know, the typical closing who wants to represent the grain. In fact culurjones were originally prepared as a gift, a kind of amulet, which was given a token of esteem. The wheat represented in it was merely a propitiatory sign of abundance.


 Where to eat it: La Cullera (Alghero)

Ingredients

For 4 people:


Per la pasta:

Farina 00	130g
Semola di grano duro	250g
Acqua	160ml
Olio extravergine di oliva	1 cucchiaio

Per la farcitura ed il sugo:

Patate	300g
Menta selvatica	14g
Pecorino sardo (miscela fresco e secco)	300g
Tomato sauce	q.s.
Extra virgin olive oil	q.s
Garlic	1 clove
Pepper	q.b.
Salt	q.s.

Procedure

First, we begin to prepare the culurjones filling.
Take the potatoes and after washing them, boil them with the skin in a pot with plenty of water. Once cooked, take a potato masher and begin to pass the potatoes one by one, picking up the potato dough into a container. Let cool the potato dough.
Finely chop a clove of garlic with mint and add to the potatoes. Then add the grated pecorino cheese, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well until all the ingredients are well blended not.
In the meantime, we switch to the dough preparation.
On a pastry board, pour the flour and semolina. Pour the middle spoon of olive oil and the water and begin to knead. When you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about half an hour.
Once the elapsed time, pull the dough so as to obtain a few mm thick sheet. Cut with a cutter circles of about 6-7 cm in diameter at the center and then pour a portion of dough (about a walnut). Begin the closure of the circles of dough to form the culurjones, closing it to form the classic plastic spike.



For the accompanying sauce, usually very simple, take a pan and add a little oil and a clove of garlic. Let cook slightly, then remove the garlic. Add the tomato sauce and basil, then season with salt and simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes on low heat.
Once the culurjones are ready, cook them in boiling salted water for about five or six minutes. Season the culurjones with tomato sauce covering them partially, possibly leaving without sauce the sa spighitta parts. Finally sprinkle with pecorino cheese. Garnish with mint leaves.

This post is a translation of the original italian recipe Culurjones from Il Gran Consiglio della Forchetta.