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Lorighittas alla Campidanese

Handmade Sardinian ring pasta from Morgongiori with fresh sausage, saffron, and tomato — a traditional Campidanese Sunday dish.

Carnivore Nut-Free
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Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Total 40 min
Servings 4
Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

Pasta

Sauce

Finish

Seasoning

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Instructions

  1. Finely chop the onion. Warm the olive oil in a wide, low-sided pan over medium heat and soften the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

  2. Add the crumbled sausage to the pan. Cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it has browned well, about 5 to 7 minutes.

  3. Deglaze with the white wine. Let it bubble and reduce completely before moving on.

  4. Add the tomato pulp and passata. Dissolve the saffron in a splash of warm water and stir it in. Season with salt, add the basil leaves, and cook on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    Tip: The sauce is even better if you make it the evening before and reheat it gently.

  5. While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the lorighittas until al dente — about 5 minutes for fresh, 12 to 15 for dried.

  6. Drain the pasta, reserving a small ladle of cooking water. Transfer the lorighittas directly into the sauce and toss to coat, adding a splash of pasta water if the sauce needs loosening.

  7. Remove from heat. Finish with a generous shower of grated pecorino and a final drizzle of raw olive oil. Serve immediately.

Storage & Meal Prep

The sauce improves overnight. Store separately from the pasta and recombine when reheating.

Variations

  • With Fennel Sausage: Use fresh fennel sausage instead of plain for a more aromatic version.
  • Without Tomato: Skip the tomato and finish with just sausage, wine, saffron, and pecorino — closer to the dry Campidanese style used for malloreddus.
  • Making Lorighittas from Scratch: Combine 400 g semolina flour, 200 ml water, and 2 g salt into a smooth dough. Rest 20 minutes, roll into 2 mm thick ropes about 20 cm long, then wrap each around three fingers, seal the ends, and twist the strands around themselves to form the ring. Fresh lorighittas cook in about 5 minutes; dried ones need roughly 15.

FAQ

What are lorighittas?

Lorighittas are a handmade Sardinian pasta from Morgongiori, in the province of Oristano. The name comes from the Sardinian word lòriga, meaning small ring or earring. Each piece is shaped by wrapping a thin dough strand around three fingers and twisting it into a closed ring. They are recognized as a Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale (PAT).

Can I use a different pasta shape?

Malloreddus or rigatoni work well with this sauce, but the texture of lorighittas — their porosity and ring shape — is part of what makes the dish distinctive. If you cannot find them, malloreddus are the closest Sardinian substitute.

Why is the sauce better made the day before?

Resting the sauce overnight lets the sausage fat, tomato, and saffron meld together. The flavors become deeper and more rounded, which is how this dish is traditionally prepared for Sunday lunch.

What kind of sausage should I use?

Fresh Sardinian sausage, ideally with some fennel or anise seed in the seasoning. If you are outside Sardinia, a good quality Italian fresh sausage with mild seasoning works. Remove the casing before cooking.

Interactive Nutrition Map

4 Servings

Customize Ingredients

Meat & Poultry
Italian Sausage
300 g
Cheese
Pecorino Romano
21 g
Vegetables
Onion (Yellow/White)
55 g
Tomato (Red, Ripe)
500 g
Tomato (Red, Ripe)
2460 g
Grains & Bread
Dried Pasta (Small)
350 g
Oils & Fats
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
47 g
Herbs & Spices
Saffron
0 g
Fresh Basil
120 g
Salt
3 g
Liquids
Dry White Wine
120 g

Per Serving

879kcalCalories
31gProtein
99gCarbs
40gFat
12gFiber
Sodium
689mg30% DV
Potassium
2261mg48% DV
Calcium
229mg18% DV
Iron
5.4mg30% DV
Magnesium
165mg39% DV
Vitamin C
110.8mg123% DV
Vitamin A
407µg45% DV
Vitamin K
190.3µg159% DV
Folate
153µg38% DV
Dried Pasta (Small)
Italian Sausage
Onion (Yellow/White)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Dry White Wine
Tomato (Red, Ripe)
Tomato (Red, Ripe)
Saffron
Fresh Basil
Pecorino Romano
Salt
* Nutrition is an estimate; actual values vary by ingredient brands and cooking methods. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

The Story Behind This Dish

Lorighittas are not widely known outside Sardinia, and even within the island they come from one specific place: Morgongiori, a small hill town in the province of Oristano. The name comes from the Sardinian word lòriga, which means both earring and small ring. Each piece is formed by hand — a thin rope of semolina dough wrapped around three fingers, sealed at the ends, then twisted back on itself until the strands lock into a closed loop. No tools, no machines, just hands and patience.

This is a Sunday dish. The sauce — fresh sausage, tomato, saffron, basil — is the same family of Campidanese condiment that dresses malloreddus across the island. But the shape of the pasta changes how the dish eats. Lorighittas are dense and porous. They hold the sauce differently than a ridged gnocchetto or a smooth strand. The ring traps the sausage and tomato inside, so each bite comes through evenly.

Why this works:

  • The sausage does most of the heavy lifting. You do not need a long-simmered ragu. Fresh sausage crumbled into the pan, browned, and deglazed with white wine gives you enough depth in under ten minutes.
  • Saffron goes into the sauce, not the pasta water. Dissolving it in warm water and stirring it into the tomato gives the sauce a consistent golden color and a floral edge that cuts through the richness of the pork.
  • Make the sauce ahead. The source recipe explicitly says the sauce is better the next day. The fat, tomato, and saffron meld overnight into something tighter and more focused than what you get cooking it to order.

Lorighittas are still made by hand by a small number of women in Morgongiori and the surrounding villages. For half a kilo of pasta, the shaping alone takes about two hours. If you can find them fresh from a Sardinian producer, use them. If not, good dried malloreddus are the most honest substitute — the sauce will carry the dish either way.

Part of: The Sardinian Kitchen

Related: Sardinian Pasta Recipes | Sardinian Ingredients Guide