Pasta school 6: Make your own gnocchetti sardi

Gnocchetti sardi – Sardinian gnocchi

Many more or less Italian enthusiasts know gnocchi, even if they may not always pronounce them correctly (correct: Njocki, incorrect: Gnotschi). However, the well-known gnoccchi are usually made from potatoes. In contrast, the Sardinian version, gnocchetti sardi, is made from durum wheat flour, also known as “yellow flour”. If you want to make it yourself, you will therefore need durum wheat flour, a little salt and water. For colored pasta, use beetroot or spinach juice instead of water or mix in paprika powder or turmeric.

Prepare the dough for gnocchetti sardi

Prepare the pasta dough as usual. You need about 100 g flour and 50-75 ml water per person. We also recommend that you have a gnocchi board. This makes it really easy to get the grooves in the gnocchi! For larger quantities, divide the pasta dough into fist-sized pieces and leave to rest in an airtight bag in the fridge for at least an hour. In the meantime, prepare your drying surfaces. Use large floured boards, baking trays lined with baking paper or even a drying rack – bought or made from several layers of stretched fine wire mesh.

This is how it’s done

Make your own gnocchetti sardi

Then remove the dough and cut off a chicken egg-sized piece with a large knife. Put the rest of the dough back into the bag so that it does not dry out. Shape it into a finger-thick roll. Use the knife to cut the roll into 7-10 mm wide pieces.
Then press the piece of dough down with your thumb on the gnocchi board with a lot of pressure so that it rolls up and the grooves form on the back. That’s it!
If you do not have a gnocchi board available, you can either shape the dough into an oval, flat piece and press it into a fork or follow the instructions for orecchiette, but do not turn the pasta upside down after pulling it with the knife.

The fresh gnocchetti sardi require approx. 10 minutes cooking time. Simply check after 6 minutes to see if they are already al dente and leave them to simmer for a little longer if necessary.

Gnocchetti sardi homemade