The secret behind Sardinia's rare Su Filindeu pasta
The Italian island of Sardinia is home to Su Filindeu pasta, otherwise known as Threads of God. Making the sacred pasta is so complicated and time-consuming that few have mastered the skill.
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00:00 You won't find these noodles in any supermarket in the world.
00:04 They're called "su filindeu", the threads of God.
00:08 These noodles are sacred.
00:11 What makes them special is that very few people can make them.
00:15 Why is that?
00:18 It takes a lot of patience and willpower to learn it well.
00:25 If you think you can learn this here in a snap and then master the technique,
00:30 you'd better not come.
00:33 There's just one city where these noodles are made,
00:40 Nuoro, up in the mountains on the Italian island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean.
00:45 Here, two families guard the secret of this pasta.
00:49 But one man is willing to show us how to prepare it.
00:54 Welcome, I'm Luca Floris.
00:56 I'll show you how to make "su filindeu".
00:59 Is it the ingredients that make it so special?
01:04 Water? Salt? Semolina?
01:06 They're pretty simple, actually.
01:09 However...
01:10 At first, you have to do a lot of testing.
01:14 You need the right proportions.
01:19 And you have to understand how the semolina reacts to the humidity or heat,
01:23 because it can absorb a lot of water or release it again,
01:28 depending on the temperature.
01:30 The dough is worked by hand, not using a machine.
01:40 While kneading it, Luca can feel if it has the right consistency and elasticity.
01:48 But there's more to take into consideration.
01:51 This is the phase when many people make a mistake,
01:59 if they think the dough is done now.
02:01 But it has to be really smooth and keep getting kneaded.
02:08 It's a lot of work, it's quite tough.
02:11 You can feel it in your elbows.
02:15 Now I let the dough stand for a while, and in a few hours, it's ready.
02:19 Next comes the real challenge.
02:23 How many strings can Luca pull from this roll?
02:25 There's one.
02:27 Now two.
02:29 Four.
02:31 Eight.
02:32 Sixteen.
02:33 Thirty-two.
02:34 Sixty-four.
02:36 One hundred twenty-eight.
02:38 Two hundred fifty-six.
02:41 The number of threads doubles each time.
02:44 A wicker wheel is used to dry the pasta threads.
02:48 It takes a long time to learn the technique, and there's an extra challenge to it.
02:52 You have to do the beginning and the end as fast as possible,
02:57 because while I'm still working this dough here, it's already starting to dry.
03:01 And you can't stick fresh dough onto dry dough.
03:05 It won't hold.
03:08 Three layers of threads form a sort of mesh at the end.
03:11 It sure looks impressive.
03:24 But how are you supposed to eat these noodles anyway?
03:34 In fall temperatures, it takes a few days for it all to dry.
03:38 Here I have dried su filindeu I made a few days ago,
03:43 and I'm breaking it up now.
03:45 What? After all that careful crafting, it's simply broken apart?
03:52 That's part of the art.
03:54 We have to break it into pieces so we can eat it.
04:00 But this pasta isn't served on just any ordinary day in Sardinia.
04:04 This pasta is sacred and dedicated to St. Francis,
04:11 whom we celebrate twice a year in Nuoro.
04:14 No one makes it on a different day.
04:20 This pasta is linked to our religion and spirituality.
04:25 But how does this specialty actually taste in the end?
04:28 And how's it served?
04:30 It gets cooked for a few minutes in this mutton broth
04:33 before lots of Sardinian cheese is added, pecorino.
04:36 So in the end it's a sort of noodle soup.
04:39 It has a strong taste from the mutton broth,
04:47 but you can feel how much work it has put into it.
04:51 And that makes it even better.
04:53 My mother always said you should enjoy su filindeu like any other meal,
04:57 with respect.
04:59 Anyone who wants to try su filindeu themselves needs a lot of luck.
05:05 You can't buy these special noodles in stores, not even in Sardinia.
05:09 Just one more reason this Sardinian specialty is so extraordinary.
05:16 Sardinian specialty is so extraordinary.
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