If you want to try the rarest pasta in the world, you’re
going to have to walk, overnight, for 20 hours from Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy to the
small village of Lula. There you will find su filindeu or “threads of God” pasta.
It’s not as simple as a walk, though. The pasta is only available twice a year at the feast of San Francesco at his namesake church, Santuario
di San Francesco. And only three women in the village are able to make this pasta.
But if you want bragging rights, you’d better earn them, because it is only served
to those willing to make the trek.
From those that have tasted this delicate, thread-like
pasta, they say it is worth the journey. Semolina wheat,
water and salt are kneaded, stretched and doubled until eight thin strands become
256. The delicate threads are crisscrossed over a wooden frame, dried in the sun and
then simmered in mutton broth with pecorino cheese.
Others have tried their hand at the pasta but so far no one
has been able to replicate this recipe. Engineers at Barilla could not build a
machine to dupe it and chef Jamie Oliver gave up, frustrated, after two hours. Training local girls from the village was a bust, too, as they saw how much work it entailed and walked out.
The pasta may be on the endangered list now. Paola Abraini’s
family has been making the pasta for over 300 years. She, her niece and her
sister-in-law are the sole holders of the expertise to make this pasta. Abraini
has daughters, but they haven’t mastered the recipe yet and may not care to.
The other family members have no pasta heirs, so the pasta may die along with
Abraini. Until then, it’s time to strap on the hiking boots and walk for this
very special dish.