1 Cup All Purpose Flour, plus extra for flouring board 1 and 1/4 Cup RICOTTA 3 egg yolks 2 Tablespoons Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano Cheese 1 pinch of grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon Salt
For Sauce
2 - 28 0z. Cans Plum Tomatoes few basil leaves Olive Oil 3 garlic cloves, cut into thick slices 1 red chilli, chopped
(1). In a bowl, mix the flour, ricotta, egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper together to form a soft, moist dough.
(2). Place on a floured board and knead for five minutes.
(3). Cut your dough ball into four then roll each piece of dough into a long, thin sausage shape and then cut it at right angles into rectangular shapes about 2cm long.
(4). Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Once boiling add a good pince of salt and then add the dumplings. They will rise to the surface again, then lower the heat and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
(5). To make your sauce. Place the tomatoes and basil in a bowl, mush up the tomatoes to a chunky texture, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
(6). Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and chilli, add the tomato mixture and warm through until the mixture is bubbling.
(7). Drain the Ndundari with a slotted spoon and add to the tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly and serve immediately topped with grated Parmesan.
Ndundari are traditionally eaten on July the 13th to celebrate the feast day of Minori’s paitron Saint “Santa Trofimena”. Legend has it that Trofimena was a Sicilian martyr, who was martyred in her early teens having had visions and dreams and deciding to turn to Christianity. Her ashes were placed in a large urn and thrown into the sea, the currents carried it away and the urn later washed up on the shores of MInori. When the locals found the urn they used two pure white heifers to carry the urn up through the hills of Minori, where the animals finally settled the people of Minori built a temple in honour of the martyr, the Basilica Santa Trofimena.