We are working on a new Chef Bike Tour in Sardinia and are seeking out ancient recipes and traditional dishes. That's how I recently learned about Su Filindeu pasta from my guides in Sardinia, Massimo and Renato. I've never come across anything like this. It's more than pasta making; it's magic!
For over 300 years in the heart of Sardinia they have been preparing "su filindeu," the "threads of God."
Su Filindeu is a type of elongated pasta similar to noodles. The technique, which has been passed down from mother to daughter in the town of Nuoro, is ancient and complex. So complex that the famous English chef Jamie Oliver, who went to Sardinia to learn it, had to give up.
The dough, which consists of durum wheat semolina and water, is worked by hand until it is elastic. The dough is then rolled and pulled by hand until you get many thin threads. With each fold the pasta threads double, becoming thinner and thinner, until they become about as thin as a hair: the threads of God, “su filindeu.” The dough is folded eight times in total, producing 256 threads.
There are no written rules: only experience allows someone to understand the exact moment when the mass of flour and water is ready to be transformed into thin filaments. Once the preparation is finished, the threads are placed on a circular surface and set out to dry. The finished product is used for the preparation of soups based on sheep broth, with the addition of fresh cheese.
Would you like to visit Sardinia and try its traditional dishes? Stay tuned for more info about the inaugural edition of the Chef Bike Tour of Sardinia with chef Mary Sue Milliken. You can also write to us now to let us know you're interested.