Fregola Sarda con Arselle e Vongole al Pomodoro
Cagliari, Sardinia
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I
Origin
Cagliari, Sardinia
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Description
Fregola (also fregola sarda or su succu) are toasted semolina pellets — Sardinia's answer to North African couscous, but toasted in an oven after forming, giving them a nutty, roasted depth that couscous lacks. Matched with arselle (small telline-style clams) and vongole in a light tomato-white wine sauce, the fregola absorbs the shellfish liquid and broth, becoming extraordinarily flavoured. It is cooked risotto-style — the liquid is added gradually and the fregola swells and absorbs.
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The Thread
—Semolina pellets absorbing shellfish liquid — the North African ancestor of fregola, here in a seafood application Moroccan
—Pasta cooked risotto-style in a ceramic dish absorbing shellfish broth — the Catalan parallel to fregola con vongole Spanish
—Toasted wheat pellets cooked in shellfish stock — the modern Israeli adaptation of the semolina pellet tradition Israeli
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Flavour Context
Nutty toasted semolina pellets having absorbed every drop of clam-and-white-wine broth — a dish that proves the toasting step changes everything, and that Sardinia has its own pasta culture
Pillars V — VII
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