Warm Sardinian Winter Salad

Name: Warm Sardinian Winter Salad
Total time: 2100 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 3 large ripe tomatoes, halved; 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled; 1 tsp dried oregano; freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 250 g fregola sarda pasta; 1 tablespoon pine nuts; small handful fresh basil; 20 g pecorino or Parmesan; 80 g ricotta salata (salted ricotta) or feta, crumbled; 30 g kale, stems removed and torn; Optional:; 100 g roast chicken

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Sometimes called Sardinian couscous, fregola sarda is a small pasta with a nutty flavour and unique shape and texture. It is made of balls of durum wheat semolina, salt and water, rolled in a large earthenware bowl and then toasted in the oven. Making Sardinian fregola requires some skill. There is an old Sardinian proverb, ‘Give me a husband, because I know how to make fregula!’ In times gone by, it was an important dowry requirement for women.

Sardinians often eat fregola with seafood (see recipe ‘Jewel in the Crown’) but also with eels (anguille) grilled over hardwood. However, I’ve found some odds and sods that need eating and decided to make a warm pasta salad with Sardinian produce; fregola, salted ricotta, plum tomatoes, pesto and added British winter kale from my garden.

Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta that has been salted, pressed, and aged. It has a harder, less creamy texture and a saltier flavour than fresh ricotta. Good quality tomatoes is a must. They are seasoned with wild oregano that grows wild in the island's mountainous areas and is cultivated on the plains of Turri. The pesto is made from roasted garlic, native pine nuts, basil, pecorino and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Kale is not an Italian vegetable and I’m not even sure there is a word for it in Italian but it is the undisputed king of the winter vegetable garden here. It is easy to grow, remarkably hardy and crops throughout the winter months. Roast chicken is a good addition.

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Saved

Ingredients

35 minutes

4 servings

3large ripe tomatoes, halved
2garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tspdried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
250 gfregola sarda pasta
1 tablespoonpine nuts
small handful fresh basil
20 gpecorino or Parmesan
80 gricotta salata (salted ricotta) or feta, crumbled
30 gkale, stems removed and torn
Optional:
100 groast chicken

Saved

Steps

35 minutes

1

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C fan. In a small roasting plan place the tomatoes cut side up and sprinkle with the dried oregano, pinch of black pepper and half of the oil. If the tomatoes are not very ripe, also add a pinch of sugar. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan from the oven and add the garlic cloves and toss to combine in the juices. Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
2

Meanwhile bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the fregola for 10- 15 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove the stalks from the kale and steam for 3-5 minutes.
3

Remove the roasted tomatoes and garlic from the oven. To make the pesto, squeeze the roasted garlic from the skin and add to a food processor with the pine nuts, basil, pinch of pepper, pecorino and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
4

In a bowl combine the fregola, tomatoes, ricotta salata and pesto and fold through the chicken if using. Check the seasoning. I’ve not added any salt as the ricotta salata is salty.