Spaghetti, farfalle, rigatoni – pasta is long, wide, with a hole, filled, curled. Countless varieties are known. But there is one thing that almost no one knows. She calls herself “Su Filindeu”, which translates as “Threads of God”, comes from Sardinia and is in danger of disappearing. Only a few people in the world still master the art of making these special noodles.
The production of the “Threads of God” is one of the best-kept secrets in the pasta world. The recipe and method of preparation have been passed down exclusively orally from one generation to the next – and this has been the case for around 300 years. However, the secrecy does not remain without consequences. Hardly anyone can master the complicated procedure anymore. There are said to be only three people left in Sardinia who are skilled at pulling thread. If they die, the divine threads also threaten to disappear from the culinary scene.
“Su Filindeu”, these are wafer-thin noodles, barely thicker than a hair. They are made from just four ingredients: semolina flour, water, salt and patience. The dough is formed into a cylinder and then pulled apart in the air with the fingers of both hands, folded and pulled again and again. Each fold and pull creates more strands of dough until, in the end, it becomes delicate threads. This requires sensitivity and a lot of practice. This once even drove the British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to despair.
During a trip to Sardinia he visited Paola Abraini. The 66-year-old from Nuoro, her niece and her mother-in-law are the last people who still know how to prepare the “Threads of God” on site. Paola is committed to ensuring that there are more. To do this, she is willing to break an unwritten rule and teach people outside the family. The celebrity chef dared the experiment, after all, he said, he had 20 years of experience making pasta – and failed. The dough ripped and tore.
But if it succeeds and the dough is transformed into wafer-thin threads, these are stretched crosswise over a round wooden board in three layers until a dense network is formed. The pasta is dried under the hot Sardinian sun. The noodles are then broken into size.
The “Su Filindeu” is a connoisseur’s pasta. Even big names have noticed that the rare pasta is something very special. Barilla sent emissaries to Paola years ago. The company wanted to find out whether the noodle could also be made by machine. The attempt failed. “This is one of the foods most at risk of extinction, in large part because it is one of the most difficult pastas there is,” Raffaella Ponzio of Slow Food International told the BBC. She is the head coordinator of the “Ark of Taste” project, which is dedicated to preserving culinary traditions. Meanwhile, the “Su Filindeu” is listed on their list of endangered foods.
The “Threads of God” are not an everyday dish in Sardinia. They are only served on special occasions and traditionally only twice a year for pilgrim festivals. Once in May and once in October, the experienced pasta makers get to work putting the pasta on the plates. They were originally prepared to feed the pilgrims who came to San Francesco di Lula, not far from Nuoro, on these days. The pasta is served in sheep broth and with grated Pecorino cheese.
Sources: Dissapora, BBC
