Filindeu (
Sardinian: su filindeu) is a rare type of
pasta from the
Barbagia region of
Sardinia.[1] It is made by pulling and folding
semolina dough into very thin threads, which are laid in three layers on a tray called a fundu and dried to form textile-like sheets. The dried sheets are then broken into pieces and served in a mutton broth with pecorino sardo cheese. Filindeu is listed on the
Ark of Taste.[2]
History
In the 17th century, a Nuorese bandit built a small church in
Lula[3] as an
ex voto to
Saint Francis of Assisi for having been cleared of all charges against him.[4] For centuries since, on the nights of May 1 and October 4 (the
feast day of Saint Francis in the
General Roman Calendar),[5] pilgrims have travelled there on foot from Church of
Our Lady of the Rosary in
Nuoro.[6] After a walk of several miles, the priors offer arriving pilgrims a dish of the filindeu and mutton soup.[7]
The recipe and making of the pasta for the soup, which is exclusively done by hand, is passed from generation to generation by the women of Lula. In modern times, there are only ten[8] women who know how to make the pasta.[9]