Su filindeu, or "threads of God," is the rarest pasta in the world. For a century, it was made by a single family in the Sardinian city of Nuoro for religious celebrations. Today, there are fewer than 10 people there who know the secret to making the pasta as thin as a strand of hair. Secrecy nearly led to the dish’s disappearance, but now, the pasta is finding new customers abroad. We went to Italy to see how the process of making su filindeu is still standing.
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00:00 This is the rarest pasta in the world.
00:04 The key to making sufilindeu, or threads of God,
00:09 is stretching and folding dough over and over and over again
00:14 until it turns into 256 even strands.
00:20 For a century, the techniques were practiced
00:22 by a single family in the Sardinian city of Nuoto,
00:26 who made the dish solely for religious celebration.
00:29 Now, Luca Floris is one of only seven locals making it here.
00:34 (speaking in foreign language)
00:38 This secrecy nearly led to the pasta's disappearance,
00:42 but now it's finding new producers and customers abroad.
00:46 This new audience could save the rare pasta from extinction.
00:51 But will this expansion also strip away
00:53 the cultural and religious significance of the dish?
00:57 We went to Italy to see how the tradition
00:59 of making threads of God is still standing.
01:02 Although making sufilindeu is complex,
01:10 the ingredients are simple.
01:12 Semolina flour, water, and salt.
01:15 Luca mixes them together to form a dough.
01:19 (speaking in foreign language)
01:23 (gentle music)
01:26 Getting the dough completely smooth
01:41 can take up to 20 minutes.
01:43 (speaking in foreign language)
01:48 (gentle music)
01:50 He alternates between adding drops of salt brine
01:57 and fresh water as he needs.
02:00 (speaking in foreign language)
02:05 (gentle music)
02:07 Stretching is the key to sufilindeu's thin strands.
02:22 In one swift motion, Luca folds the dough in half
02:25 to make two pieces, then four, then eight.
02:32 He continues until he forms 256
02:35 perfectly even threads of pasta.
02:37 Each one is as thin as a strand of hair.
02:41 (speaking in foreign language)
02:47 Luca has to be careful not to break any of the strands
02:59 as he places them on a traditional wicker base
03:01 called a fundu.
03:03 It's made of asphodel,
03:04 a plant that grows throughout the region.
03:07 (speaking in foreign language)
03:10 Layering is the key to sufilindeu's mesh-like design.
03:23 It's also the trickiest step of the process for Luca.
03:25 The strands cannot be moved once they are on the fundu,
03:30 so he has to be precise.
03:32 He removes any excess dough from the edges
03:35 before working on the next section.
03:37 (speaking in foreign language)
03:58 Luca only has 20 minutes to finish all three layers.
04:02 (speaking in foreign language)
04:06 For the people of Nuoto, sufilindeu is sacred.
04:12 Traditionally, the dish was prepared only twice a year
04:16 during celebrations to honor Saint Francis.
04:19 Pilgrims from Nuoto would travel 20 miles to his shrine.
04:24 Women from a local family would gather
04:26 and prepare bowls of sufilindeu
04:28 for those who completed the trek.
04:29 (speaking in foreign language)
04:34 This hasn't changed since at least the 19th century.
04:42 (speaking in foreign language)
04:47 But generations of secrecy have left
04:52 only a handful of people in Nuoto
04:54 with the knowledge and interest to make the dish.
04:57 In 2021, a sufilindeu maker from the family
05:00 divulged the recipe to other women in the community
05:03 in an effort to keep the dish from disappearing.
05:05 Other Nuoto residents like Luca
05:08 stepped in to keep the tradition alive.
05:11 But for him, finding a teacher was impossible.
05:15 (speaking in foreign language)
05:22 Luca decided to take matters into his own hands.
05:25 (speaking in foreign language)
05:28 Slowly, Luca started getting inquiries
05:30 from chefs in Canada, England, China, Germany, and beyond.
05:35 (speaking in foreign language)
05:51 Over 6,000 miles away, outside of Los Angeles,
05:55 one of Luca's students is bringing a new life
05:58 to sufilindeu.
05:59 Chef Rob Gentile has spent over 20 years
06:03 bringing the flavors of his Italian background
06:06 to fine dining restaurants in Canada and the US.
06:10 - It was always this, like, holy grail of pasta.
06:15 I always wanted to learn how to make it.
06:17 It's just one of those things.
06:19 It's like, before I die,
06:21 I wanna know how to make sufilindeu.
06:23 - For years, Rob struggled to find a teacher.
06:26 But when the masters in Nuoto
06:27 finally began sharing their knowledge,
06:29 he jumped at the opportunity.
06:31 - It started to become like,
06:33 how do we keep this tradition alive?
06:36 How do we encourage the people who are excited about it
06:41 to foster this amazing product?
06:44 And this is where I met Luca.
06:46 - Rob spent hours watching and learning
06:48 how to knead and stretch the dough in Luca's home.
06:51 - I was like, I can do this.
06:53 It's not that difficult.
06:55 Because Luca made it look so easy.
06:58 It was a very memorable moment, my entire life.
07:02 It was like, couldn't even believe this.
07:04 - Now Rob is featuring sufilindeu
07:06 on the menu at his restaurant, Stella West Hollywood.
07:10 - I just felt like it was something special
07:12 that people needed to try.
07:16 And every time I've introduced someone to it,
07:19 it's a magical thing to eat.
07:22 - As sufilindeu expands to restaurants outside of Sardinia,
07:26 awareness of the dish's cultural and religious significance
07:28 could fade over time.
07:31 But Luca and Rob believe that shouldn't stop people
07:33 from sharing how to make it.
07:35 (speaking in foreign language)
07:40 (speaking in foreign language)
07:44 - I think that it can be appreciated as a technique
07:50 in a pasta, and we can do things like sufilindeu with it
07:55 and have fun with it.
07:57 But it can also be celebrated
07:59 as the religious tradition that it is.
08:03 It's an exciting time for sufilindeu
08:05 because it's never really been anywhere else
08:08 outside of Sardinia, and now it is.
08:11 - And though the pasta is finding new homes,
08:16 the tradition is still under threat in its birthplace.
08:20 That's because to make the pasta the authentic way,
08:22 you need a fundu.
08:24 And there are not that many people left making them.
08:27 (speaking in foreign language)
08:34 (speaking in foreign language)
08:38 - Giovanna Porci has been weaving
08:51 since she was a small child.
08:52 (speaking in foreign language)
08:58 (speaking in foreign language)
09:02 - She starts by cutting the asphodel into thin strips.
09:14 This tool is made from cow bone.
09:20 Giovanna uses it to weave the plant into a round base.
09:24 In Sardinia, women have passed down asphodel weaving
09:27 for generations.
09:29 It was a source of income for people like Giovanna's mother.
09:32 (speaking in foreign language)
09:37 - But today, the trade has virtually disappeared
09:53 with only a few weavers remaining.
09:56 (speaking in foreign language)
10:00 - Giovanna says young people haven't shown any interest
10:12 in learning the craft.
10:13 She's tried to teach women in her community,
10:15 but she says it hasn't caught on.
10:17 (speaking in foreign language)
10:21 (speaking in foreign language)
10:25 - Like weaving, the art of making su filindeu in Nuoto
10:38 is anything but widespread.
10:40 (speaking in foreign language)
10:45 - This limited production has also made the pasta
10:50 expensive.
10:52 One kilo can cost 26 to 30 euros,
10:55 around 15 times the average price of pasta in Italy.
10:59 But Luca doesn't believe selling it is the key
11:01 to keeping this tradition alive.
11:04 (speaking in foreign language)
11:18 - Instead, his focus is teaching it to others.
11:21 And he's putting his faith in people like Rob
11:23 to bring the dish worldwide.
11:26 - They're part of culture, they're part of a cuisine.
11:29 It's just something that should be taught,
11:36 it should be carried on, it should move forward.
11:39 (speaking in foreign language)
11:44 (speaking in foreign language)
11:48 - While Luca doesn't know what the future holds,
11:59 he's proud of the work he's doing
12:01 to keep threads of God alive.
12:03 (upbeat music)
12:06 (upbeat music)
12:08 (upbeat music)