There are more than 300 types of pasta, but none are as mysterious and rare as su filindeu, or “threads of God” in the local Sardo dialect because of how thin and delicate the noodles are. This pasta is only produced in Lula, a village near the Italian city of Nuoro in Sardinia.
Only a handful of people are able to make su filindeu, including the women of the Abraini family, who live in Lula. They have passed down the recipe and technique through several generations.
In the past, the tradition of su filindeu was passed down through a single matrilineal line, from mother to daughter. Now, the last masters are Paola Abraini, her niece, and her sister-in-law.
To make su filindeu pasta dough, all you need is semolina flour, salt, and water. The water is mixed into the dough to give it moisture. The hard part is shaping the dough into thin, thread-like noodles.
Most pastas can be easily replicated by commercial machines, but su filindeu can only be made by hand. The pasta company Barilla attempted to create a machine that could replicate the technique, but they were unsuccessful.
The English chef Jamie Oliver even visited Paola Abraini to try to learn how to make the dish, but he failed miserably and had to give up after two hours.
Preparing su filindeu requires a natural intuition that can’t be taught. The noodles must be rolled out and stretched repeatedly until thin strands are formed. Then, the strands are layered on top of each other in a crisscross pattern and dried outdoors.
Once the strands have fully dried and hardened, they are broken into strips, which are placed into boiling sheep’s broth and topped with grated pecorino cheese.
Abraini can tell if the dough is right just by feeling it. For more elasticity, she will dip her fingers into a bowl of salt water. For more moisture, she uses regular water. The technique can take years to perfect.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
It takes so much time and effort to prepare, that for the past two centuries, it was only served to those willing to make the 21-mile trek from Nuoro to Lula at night. The noodles were made just twice a year for the Feast of San Francesco, which takes place in October and May.
The dish is meant to be enjoyed as a thick soup. The noodles are savory and delicious because they soak up the broth as they cook, and their texture is firm but silky smooth.
The tradition of su filindeu is at risk of disappearing forever, making it the world’s rarest and most endangered pasta.
Abraini’s own daughters don’t have the passion or patience for it. Meanwhile, the two other women in the Abraini family who are knowledgeable in the ways of su filindeu are getting older and don’t have potential successors.
The future of the pasta is unknown. Abraini has continued to share its secret to prevent it from becoming lost over time.
