Recipe: Hand-shaped Sardinian Lorighittas with Homemade Tomato Sauce

In the age of a global pandemic, it’s sad and eerie to see the closure of millions of restaurants and other establishments around the world.

It is upsetting to know that lots of them might not be coming back after this, and that so many people are currently unemployed.

The silver lining, though, is seeing how different businesses are trying to adapt to the current situation. Many are offering takeout options, some are selling cookbooks, and others are giving us a more personal glimpse into their kitchens and staffs’ lives.

I really like the approach taken by world renown Geranium, based out of Copenhagen. Consistently rated as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, it was the first restaurant in Denmark to receive three Michelin Stars, and was one of the first Nordic restaurants to do so. They specialize in surprise small-plate tasting menus, with a focus on organic ingredients.

With the restaurant currently closed, they have started to introduce some of their team members through Instagram and are sharing a few of their recipes for simple, delicious, vegetarian dishes that you can make at home.

All of them so far look delicious and they are not overly complicated to make.  

Just before the lockdown began, I had stocked up on semolina flour from Almanac Grain with the intention of making homemade pasta. My pasta maker is buried somewhere, and I don’t really feel like digging it out, so I was particularly excited to find a recipe that did not require it!

Geranium shared this recipe for Sardinian Lorighattas, from Chef Giulia. I won’t write too much about them since you can find the lovely description and the actual recipe in the post below:

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Giulia, is one of our chefs who hails from Sardinia, a beautiful island in Italy which is full of traditions. She chose to share a pasta dish “that represents the perfect union between handcrafts and chef’s work.” They’re called “Lorighittas” which means earrings/jewels. Giulia loves the feeling of working with the dough and thinks that making them is a great way to spend time with the people she loves.⁣ ⁣ “Lorighittas”⁣ Serves 4⁣ ⁣ Pasta Ingredients⁣ ⁣ 300 g durum wheat flour ⁣ 150 g warm water⁣ 4 g olive oil ⁣ 3 g salt ⁣ ⁣ Sauce Ingredients⁣ ⁣ 400 g fresh tomatoes ⁣ 120 g oil ⁣ salt ⁣ fresh basil & thyme, chopped⁣ ⁣ Place the flour, warm water, olive oil and salt into a bowl. Mix and then knead until a dough is formed. Once the dough is smooth, firm and elastic, let it reast for 1 hour.⁣ ⁣ In the meantime, prepare the sauce by boiling some water in a pan. With a knife, make a cross on the bottom of each tomato and then submerge in the boiling water for around 30 seconds. Removed the tomatoes and allow them to cool. Once cooled, remove the skin of the tomatoes and add them to a pan with the oil. Using an emersion blender, blend the tomatoes and oil until smooth, around 2 minutes. Season with salt and fresh basil and thyme. The sauce is ready and may be set aside.⁣ ⁣ After the dough has rested, cut a thin but long piece and roll it with your hands until it resembles a think stick. Wrap it around two of your fingers, twice. Then using the tip of your finger, twist the two layers of dough around each other. Once you have done this with all of the dough, place the “Lorighittas” in salted, boiling water until done, about 4 minutes. Serve the pasta with the fresh tomato sauce and enjoy!

A post shared by Restaurant Geranium (@restaurant_geranium) on Apr 19, 2020 at 2:00am PDT

I followed the recipe and was pretty happy with how the pasta turned out. A little thick, but not too bad for my first try! It took a few hours to make just over 100 pasta pieces — that includes taking a few breaks for meetings and phone calls, as well as trouble-shooting my dough. Possibly because the flour was so coarse, the dough was a little drier that what I’m used to, so I think I will use a bit more water next time. I ended up working with a handy bowl of water nearby so I could wet my hands to make shaping easier.

The pasta took about 10 minutes to boil (al dente), then I cooked it in the sauce with about a cup of pasta water for 5-10 minutes.

I changed the sauce from the recipe. Tomatoes at this time of year are basically cardboard, and I didn’t have time to blanche them anyways, so I used canned San Marzano tomatoes, dried herbs from my garden, and a lot of garlic to make my own twist! I highly recommend making the sauce ahead of time (minimum a few hours, even the day before), as it will allow the flavours to really develop.

A few of my friends and colleagues have asked for the recipe, so here it is:

INGREDIENTS

1 can skinned San Marzano tomatoes, packed in purée (I used 796mL can of Il Primo)
1/2 – 1 head garlic, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp basil
Pinch of chili flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a large saucepan, medium heat, until warmed. Add olive oil and garlic. Cook until fragrant, but garlic is still pale.
2. Carefully add tomatoes, then pour in purée. Once steaming, turn heat down to medium-low and use a spatula to cube tomatoes (be careful not to squirt them!).

3. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Let sauce reduce (lid off) for about 20-30 minutes, until thick and not watery. Turn off heat and let sit for a few hours, or overnight (can put in the fridge once cooled).

4. When ready to serve, reheat on medium-low heat with a cup of water that your pasta had cooked in, as well as the pasta itself. The pasta water will help the sauce adhere better. Heat for about 5-10 minutes, until sauce has thickened again.

5. Plate with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and top with fresh herbs. Enjoy!