This mafaldine pasta with a simple, creamy tomato sauce is ready in less than 30 minutes, which makes it the perfect midweek meal for all the family. You can easily adapt the sauce to suit your own preferences.

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What is mafaldine pasta?

Pasta made with semolina flour

Semolina in cakes

Creating a sauce for mafaldine pasta

Recipe for mafaldine with creamy tomato sauce

I am a teacher, and one of my presents at the end of the term was a beautiful food basket stuffed with Italian grocery items, and one of them was beautiful pasta in a shape I’ve never seen before, called Mafaldine. 

What is mafaldine pasta?

To look at, mafaldine has to be one of the prettiest pastas I’ve seen. Long strips of ribbon pasta with a crimped edge on both sides. Given its gorgeous appearance, it’s not surprising that mafaldine is often used for more sophisticated dishes served up at distinguished gatherings, such as royal events. Originating in Naples, and first called fettuccelle riccie, the pasta was re-named to celebrate the birth of Princess Mafalda in 1902. It also goes by the alternative name of riginette, which means little queens. The gorgeous undulating edges were thought to represent the stitching used on the dresses of that era. 

Pasta made with semolina flour

Mafaldine is made with semolina flour. Okay, it’s time to get frank here. I thought semolina was that gross pudding we had after school dinners. Anyone who went to school in the UK in the ’60s & ’70s will be nodding their heads in agreement.

However, semolina is often used in pasta, which was a revelation to me, but not to the clever Italians. Semolina flour is a great choice for pasta because it is high in gluten. This allows the pasta to keep its shape when cooked, creating the prized al dente texture. This was certainly true for my dish, as you can still clearly see the fluting on the edges of the mafaldine. The semolina flour also gives pasta a slight nuttiness, unlike regular wheat flour, which is odourless. 

Semolina in cakes

If pasta being made with semolina flour wasn’t enough to blow my mind, then the realisation that it can also be used in cakes did. We were definitely cheated back in those school canteens, for sure. The Italians have a knack of taking rather unexciting ingredients and making them into something rather special.

I fell in love with polenta in cakes after making clementine polenta cake and polenta and lime cupcakes. Like polenta, semolina in cakes produces a soft crumb and a beautiful yellow hue. I’m all for using natural products to create stunning colours, like I did with the frosting for my raspberry and blackberry cupcakes.

However, it’s not only the Italians that know how amazing semolina is in sweet dishes. Halva, for example, is a dessert with Arabic origins that has also spread throughout the Mediterranean. Greek halva is made with coarse semolina (and not flour) which is fried in oil. It is often flavoured with spices such as cinnamon and cloves, along with orange peel.

Creating a sauce for mafaldine pasta

I decided I wanted to create a sauce to do this magnificent pasta justice. I had some leftover passata sitting in the fridge from when I made pizza the other night, and decided to use that along with some cream. An onion, garlic, touch and wine and plenty of seasoning and spices later, and the dish was ready. The fluted edges of the mafaldine mean that it holds onto the sauce. This means that every bite is creamy and delicious. 

However, you can eat Mafaldine with any kind of sauce. As the pasta originated in Naples, a simple tomato-based neapolitan sauce (something many Americans might refer to as marinara) would be fitting (not to mention delicious). 

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Mafaldine Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce (ready in 30 minutes)

Ingredients

• 250g (8¾ oz) mafaldine pasta (see note 1)
• 1½ tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion (sliced)
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½-1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or chilli powder) - add as much or as little as you like
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper (to taste)
• 3 tbs white wine (see note 2)
• 175ml (¾ cup) cream
• 250ml (1 cup) passata (or tinned tomatoes)
• chives & plum tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

• Cook the pasta as per manufacturer's instructions.
• Heat the olive oil in a pan. Slice the onion thinly and then fry until softened.
• Add the garlic and fry for a minute or so.
• Add the chilli powder/flakes, paprika, salt and pepper, and cook for a further minute.
• Add the white wine (or pasta water) and allow it to evaporate (a couple of minutes).
• Add the cream and tomatoes and cook for around five minutes.
• When ready, drain the pasta and add to the sauce, stirring so that the pasta is coated.
• To decorate, chop some fresh chives or whatever else you fancy. I also sliced a couple of plum tomatoes. Serve with your favourite bread. Enjoy!

Notes

 

I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.

1. If you don't have mafaldine, just use any kind of pasta you like.
2. If you would rather not use wine, just take 3 tablespoons of the hot pasta water.