Name: Gnocchetti Sardi with Wild Boar
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 6 stalks celery, finely diced; 2 medium carrots, finely diced; 1 medium onion, finely diced; 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 4 bay leaves; 1 pound wild boar leg or lean shoulder meat, finely diced; 8 juniper berries, cracked; 3 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Sardinian Cannonau; One 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes, drained and chopped; 1 pound gnocchetti Sardi (see Tips, below); Chopped fresh parsley and basil for garnish; 1 cup (2 ounces) aged pecorino cheese, grated

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Sardinian chef Raffaele Solinas. Solinas also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.

To read more about Solinas and Sardinian cuisine, click here.

This pasta dish, similar to a ragù, features wild boar, a common Sardinian ingredient with a distinctively rich and gamy flavor. "A good butcher will carry wild boar," says Solinas. But in a pinch, the best alternative would be duck breast.

Chef Raffaele Solinas shares his tips with Epicurious:

&183; Gnocchetti Sardi, known in the Sardinian language as malloreddus, resembles cavatelli in shape. When made in the traditional manner, the pasta's distinctive ridges come from pressing 1-inch lengths of dough against the bottom of a basket called a ciuliri. Dried malloreddus is available at www.gourmetsardinia.com. &183; Cannonau di Sardegna, a full-bodied red wine made from Grenache grapes, is traditionally used in and drunk with this dish. Any full-bodied wine such as a Shiraz would work well.

Recipe notes

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