Fregola con le arselle

Fregola is a peculiar pasta shape at the heart of Sardinia’s culinary heritage. Handmade using only semolina flour and water, then toasted in a wood-fire oven – from which it gets its unique, multi-coloured appearance – it resembles pearl couscous in shape and texture, though it’s used in fairly different ways.

Fregola’s most traditional pairing is with clams, particularly with a local variety of clams called arselle. However, any variety of local clams will work just as well for the sake of this recipe.

The dish is often declined in a variety of ways: with more or less (or no) tomatoes or tomato sauce; with sun-dried tomatoes; served on a bed of pane carasau (the local flatbread;) and so on. I opted for a bit of tomato sauce for colour and zing.