What is Lorighittas?
Lorighittas are classic pasta preparation of Sardinian cuisine, derived from the word “iron ring.” The dishes are originally prepared in the region of Morgongiori, situated at the foot of Mount Arci. They are usually prepared for the feast of All Saints. Lorighittas have a very rare shape forming a ring made by hand. They give a distinctive taste and texture to any preparation. They are seasoned specially with chicken and tomato sauces. With the onset of August, people host the festival of Lorighittas and deliver free pasta to the invitee.
Making process
Lorighittas are exclusively produced in the village of Morgongiori. Making Lorighittas is an art and is not an easy task for the beginners. It takes years of practice to get the pasta rings done. The dough is prepared with semolina flour, olive oil, egg, salt and water. Roll it flat and do not make it thick. Take a knife and cut the flat fine dough in narrow strips and twist the strip between your fingers to form a rope. To get the exact shape of the Lorighittas, wind the rope around the fingers and seal the ends together. Now, braid the loop over each other and obtain the ring structure. It is a long procedure and takes almost 6 hours to intertwine the loop to form rings. They are kept in the baskets and laid out to give a dry form. The process usually covers certain days. At the end the Lorighittas comes up with a quite unique appearance and flavourful taste.
Cooking process
Lorighittas are boiled in salty warm water and are served with succulent sauces made with tomatoes, chicken and bay leaves. They are even served with mouth-watering seafood and artichoke.
Promotion
In the recent scenario, promotion of Lorighittas is on a hike. People have started to adopt certain policies to promote this distinctive native food. The municipalities have arranged the festivals of Lorighittas in the first week of August where people are given free tasting of the pasta. The pasta is also presented in numerous exhibitions and even on the event of International Exhibition of taste.
Recipe
Lorighittas are famously known for their taste and the luscious sauce served with them. Few names and the procedure to make are given below.
Lorighittas Virdes- This preparation requires pasta, broccoli florets, virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, pancetta, and shallot and pecorino cheese. Boil the pasta and the broccoli in salt water. Cook shallot, pancetta, garlic and broccoli in olive oil. Add pasta liquid over the preparation and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the pasta over the sauce, mix it well and garnish it with pecorino cheese.
Lorighittas ai Frutti di Mare e Carciofi- This is one of the extremely delicious dish filled with clams, mussels, prawns, lemon, artichoke, parsley, chilli pepper, garlic, and olive oil, white wine and salt. Soak the artichoke and mix them with lemon juice and clean the mussels and clams so that they can too soak in water. Fry the mixture of garlic, parsley and chilli pepper and add clams, mussels, prawns to cook. Put the drained artichokes with salt, pepper and wine and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Mix your pasta with the above preparation and serve with chopped parsley on top.
Lorighittas with seafood- Seafood gives an exclusive taste to the pasta. The components used for this dish are clams, mussels, shrimps, tomatoes, fish stock and onion, chopped parsley, garlic, pink pepper, olive oil and salt. Sauté the onion, garlic, tomatoes and parsley in olive oil and later add mussels, clams and shrimp to it. Mix it with fish stock and season with salt, pepper and clover. Prepare your Lorighittas and blend it with the sauce. Garnish it with fresh parsley and serve your platter.