Malloreddus Pasta
Have you tried making your own fresh pasta? We made fettuccini many, many years ago using our KitchenAid with the pasta attachment. While the pasta was excellent, the process was really cumbersome and it didn’t really seem worthwhile. We haven’t tried making fresh pasta since (except for our spaetzle and these ricotta dumplings, which are both easy and delicious).
Then along came Josh Cohen with his recipe for malloreddus pasta. Holy cow! We’ve made this pasta 4 times already and cannot get enough of it. We only make the pasta (not the brodo…yet!) in Josh’s recipe and we’ve doubled it so it will feed four as a pasta main dish. Malloreddus is so, so easy to make and freezes really well. We will never again buy dried shell pasta! We have served it with pesto, creamy tomato sauce (recipes below) and browned butter with a little grated mizithra cheese. It would also be really yummy in place of penne in this recipe.
If you are afraid of pasta – or the time commitment it requires – you have to try making this pasta. You will be so happy you did!
Jump to Recipe
Make the dough, dump out onto work surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest.
Break off golf ball sized pieces of dough, roll into a rope and cut into small squares.
Using your thumb, press each dough square onto the tines of a fork, then gently roll up from one side.
Finito!
Malloreddus Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups semolina flour
- 2/3 cup plus 2 TBSP water
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the semolina flour to a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the semolina and add the water to the center of that well, along with the olive oil and salt. Use a fork to mix the semolina with the rest of the ingredients. When a dough has formed, transfer to a flat surface.
- Begin kneading the dough. If the dough sticks to your palms, add 1 tablespoon of semolina at a time, until you can knead the dough without it sticking to your palms. If the dough seems too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead for approximately 10 minutes. Stop kneading when the dough becomes smoother and tears less easily during the kneading process. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
- After the dough has rested, tear a small piece of dough (about the size of a golf ball) and roll it into a thin snake shape, about ¾ inch wide. Cover the remaining dough with plastic wrap. Use a bench scraper to cut the snake of dough into little squares, about ¾ inch. Place a piece of dough on a fork and press down gently with your thumb while rolling the dough forward slightly along the tines of the fork. You should end up with a ridged, shell-looking shape (see pictures). If the dough doesn’t roll along with your thumb, gently push the dough into a shell shape. If you push too hard, the dough can get stuck in the fork tines and won’t roll. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough, storing the finished malloreddus on a rimmed baking sheet dusted with semolina flour and covered with a towel until all the pasta is formed.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the malloreddus to the boiling water and stir gently to prevent them from sticking. The malloreddus will quickly rise to the surface of the boiling water. When they’re all floating at the top of the water, cook for two additional minutes, then remove them from the boiling water and set them aside for a moment. Toss them in a tiny drizzle of olive oil so that they don’t stick to each other.
- If you want to freeze the malloreddus, place the rimmed baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour and then transfer (along with any semolina on the sheet) to an air-tight storage container. We use freezer bags. They will keep in the freezer for up to a few months. Cook them right from the freezer following the directions above. They will just take a little longer to float to the top.
Simple Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 small shallot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 TBS tomato paste
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- Ricotta or parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant,
- Add tomato paste and salt and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Lower burner to medium-low and slowly whisk in the cream until smooth. Continue stirring for a minute or two until warm throughout.
- Add cooked pasta to skillet and toss to coat.
Basil Pesto Recipe from Cecelia Jenkins, Cook’s Country (June/July 2020)
Ingredients
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 3 oz 4 cups fresh basil, leaves only
- ¾ tsp table salt plus salt for blanching basil
- 1 ¼ oz parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
Instructions
- Combine pine nuts and 1 tablespoon olive oil in an 8-inch skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until pine nuts are light golden, 3 to 6 minutes. Spread pine nuts out on a plate and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to a boil in medium saucepan. Add basil leaves and 1 ½ teaspoons salt to boiling water and cook until basil is wilted and bright green, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a spider skimmer or a slotted spoon, transfer basil directly to a salad spinner and spin to remove excess water. Spread basil on a clean dish towel to dry. (If you don’t have a salad spinner, drain basil on clean dish towel and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.)
- Process parmesan in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a medium bowl. Process garlic, pine nuts, basil, salt and remaining oil in now-empty food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer pesto to bowl with parmesan and stir to combine. Serve.