Purple Potato Culurgiones

Culurgiones are a typical type of stuffed pasta from Sardinia, usually made with a dough of durum wheat semolina and filled with potatoes, pecorino cheese, and mint. Let’s see how to prepare them with a twist using purple potatoes, which will surely make them both a surprise to the eyes and the palate. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 500 g of durum wheat semolina
• 200-250 ml of water (adjust the amount based on the flour’s absorption capacity)
• 1 kg of purple potatoes
• 200 g of fresh Sardinian pecorino cheese
• A bunch of fresh mint
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the pasta dough: in a large bowl, put the semolina and gradually add the water, working until you get a smooth and elastic dough. You will have to knead it for about 10 minutes. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, boil the purple potatoes in plenty of salted water until they become tender. Drain them and, once lukewarm, peel and mash them with a potato masher to obtain a puree.

3. In a pan, sauté the chopped garlic with a drizzle of oil and then remove it. Add the purple potato puree and flavor for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

4. Add the grated Sardinian pecorino cheese, chopped mint, salt, and pepper to the potato puree. Mix well until you have a homogeneous mixture.

5. Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets, then cut out disks with the help of a pastry cutter or a glass.

6. Place a spoonful of the filling in the center of each disk, then close the culurgiones sealing the edges well and giving them their typical wheat spike shape, by pinching and folding the dough between your fingers.

7. Cook the culurgiones in plenty of salted water for about 5 minutes or until they float to the surface.

8. Drain the culurgiones and dress them with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or with a simple tomato sauce and basil.

Curiosity

The wheat spike shape of the culurgiones is not just aesthetic: according to tradition, it symbolizes wishes for abundance and fertility. In many villages of Sardinia, women gather to prepare culurgiones during festivities and celebrations, making it a moment of conviviality and sharing. The version with purple potatoes is a modern variant that plays with the color and unique taste of this type of potato.