Culurgiones

Ingredients

• For the pasta
• 300 g semolina (fine durum wheat)
• 150 ml water, warm
• For the filling
• 600 g floury potatoes, russet or similar, baked whole and scooped
• 200 g fresh pecorino sardo, semi-soft, not aged; worked into the hot potato
• 1 small bunch fresh spearmint, leaves only, generously measured
• 2 cloves garlic, finely crushed
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• For the sauce
• 400 g ripe tomatoes, or good passata; fresh tomato sauce kept simple
• 60 g aged pecorino sardo, finely grated, for serving
• To finish
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, alternative to tomato sauce if preferred

Method

1. 1
   Bake the floury potatoes whole in their skins in a hot oven until completely tender throughout. Scoop the flesh immediately into a bowl and mash to a smooth, dry purée. Work the fresh pecorino into the hot potato so that it melts and integrates evenly. Add the crushed garlic, the olive oil, and the spearmint leaves — chopped, and used generously so their presence is unmistakable. The filling is done when it is cohesive, richly aromatic with mint, and dry enough to hold its shape when pressed.
2. 2
   Combine the semolina and warm water and work to a firm, smooth dough. Rest under a cloth until supple. Roll thin — the sheet should be sturdy enough to contain a generous filling yet thin enough to yield when bitten. Cut rounds approximately 10 cm in diameter. The dough is ready when it rolls without tearing and holds its shape at the edge.
3. 3
   Place a generous mound of filling at the centre of each round — the finished dumpling should be approximately 10 cm long, so proportion the filling accordingly. Bring the edges up and begin the sa spighitta braided closure: pinch one corner to anchor the seal, then pleat the edge in a continuous, rhythmic, overlapping spiral — each fold pressed firmly over the last — working along the spine of the dumpling from one end to the other. The finished seam must resemble a wheat ear: a raised herringbone ridge, airtight and uniform. This is where the dish lives or dies; a broken or loosely pleated seal will burst in the water. Practice the motion on scraps of dough before committing to the filled pieces.
4. 4
   Rest the sealed culurgiones on a lightly semolina-dusted tray for 10 minutes before cooking. Lower them in batches into a wide pan of generously salted boiling water. They are done when they float to the surface — lift them promptly with a slotted spoon.
5. 5
   Sauce sparingly with a simple fresh tomato sauce, or dress with olive oil alone. Finish with grated aged pecorino sardo. The filling is the focal point; the sauce should accompany, not smother. Serve immediately as a primo.