The traditional cuisine of Sardinia

The traditional cuisine of Sardinia is based on simple ingredients and traditional pastoral and farming along the coast, on the traditional marinara. The pot is the symbol of Porceddu, the pig roast on the grill, on low heat, soft and crunchy, served with leaves of myrtle on a bed of bread. Roasts on the spit, as the lamb and goat are a peculiar feature of the kitchen island.

The fish dishes are typical: the zuppetta of seafood in red, sa burrida (dogfish cooked with vinegar and walnuts), lobster Catalan or all'algherese, mullet and eel broth. Very valuable is sa buttariga, the roe, mullet roe salted and dried in a process as old as its inventors, the Phoenicians, great for dressing the pasta, can also be consumed in thin strips with the oil. cassola Sa is a soup of various fish, molluscs, crustaceans, tomato and vernaccia. Vernaccia is also used for baking of bass, bream and Sarago.

Other dishes are malloreddus, semolina dumplings seasoned with tomatoes, sausage and saffron, the culurgiones, large ravioli stuffed with mashed potatoes, egg, mint, onion and cheese, seasoned with tomato and meat sauce, bread frattau, sheets of bread softened in broth and served with pecorino cheese, tomato sauce and poached egg; fregula the paste, processed flour, served dry or with clams in broth as a soup, the soup Gallura, on the basis of stale bread, tomatoes, broth and pecorino.

The bread in Sardinia

Sardinia is the first country in the world for the variety of bread: the bread in Sardinia bear endless forms, one for each region of the island, through the variety of techniques, the pulp and the many processes to make it rise.

The most famous is the bread (or music paper), formed by two thin, crisp sheets, obtained through a double firing in the wood oven. The name derives from "caras" in Sardinian means "toast." Other types of bread are on Pistoccu and civraxiu, a large loaf which is eaten in slices, then as s coghoneddas on coccu chin gherda on lentu bread on bread e'limosina.

The cheeses in Sardinia

The cheeses are a delicatessen in Sardinia which, thanks to its old pastoral tradition, it offers the largest production of pecorino cheese in Europe.

The best known is the Pecorino Sardo, which may be of two types: sweet or ripe. Pecorino dolce, a short period of maturation, it is the cheese table, and has a delicate flavor and aroma, sometimes slightly acidic; pecorino ripe, medium and long period of maturing, has a strong and pungent flavor, and more is left to mature the more spicy and tasty. Equally famous is the Pecorino Romano, whose maturation is variable but not less than eight months, has a distinctive aroma and a rather spicy taste that make it an excellent table cheese, as well as an excellent condiment for pasta dishes. Both the Sardinian pecorino romano pecorino that have obtained the DOP (Denomination of protected origin).

Details are the baskets, pecorino cheese flavor pleasantly spicy, so called because the curd is made to stand in "baskets" of wicker that forms to give a characteristic appearance.

The Fiore Sardo is a sheep cheese with very ancient origins, produced with the milk of Sardinian sheep native to the provinces of Nuoro, Sassari and Cagliari. He received recognition for typicality in 1955, the DO (Denomination of Origin) in 1974 and the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) in 1996. It is still produced according to ancient and special processing techniques artisan shepherd's Barbagia: the sheep's milk is made with rennet to curdle goat or lamb, and the curd is chopped, purged and transferred into molds, after a brief stop in the cheeses are brine salted and subjected to light smoking and then maturing, for a period varying from 2 to 8 months in cool cellars of the old Sardinia. The name "Fiore Sardo" derives from the special wooden molds used in the past shaping the dough, which was carved a stylized flower asphodel that was imprinted on all forms of output. The Fiore Sardo, spicy taste and decided that increases with aging, is a good table cheese if eaten within the first two months of maturing, good for grating or in combination with honey, jam or fruit, whether matured over six months.

Particularly noteworthy is the casu marzu (literally, "cheese rotten "), a sheep cheese made in a natural way thanks to Piophila Casei, an insect that lays on the shape of pecorino their eggs, which are born from hundreds of larvae that penetrate the cheese and start eating, working and reducing it to a creamy, moist compact, to the intense, pungent flavor and very special.

You can also find various soft sheep's cheese, pasta and soft and creamy taste delicate and slightly aromatic, and cheeses made with goat milk, fresh or seasoned. Finally, the ricotta, which can be fresh, delicate flavor, and seasoned, the flavor stronger.

The desserts in Sardinia

The desserts, made with flour, honey and almonds, are different from country to country. A popular dessert in the whole island is sa sebada, also known as sa sead, a disc of dough which encloses a filling of fresh cheese flavored with lemon, fried and covered with melted honey. Always made of cheese can be tasted or sas Casadinas pardulas, cakes of dough stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese flavored with saffron, vanilla and orange peel or lemon.

Then s'aranzada prepared with candied orange peel, honey and toasted almonds; sos papassinos prepared with flour, walnuts, raisins, almonds or hazelnuts. A true delicacy sas urillettas are made with paste of flour and eggs, fried and sprinkled with honey. Many desserts are made with almonds and honey as coriccheddos sos, sos sos maricosos and guerfos.

Wine and spirits

The most famous wine of Sardinia is the Vernaccia di Oristano (the first to get the DOC), a strong wine with alcohol content of at least 15 degrees and a minimum age of 3 years in oak barrels.

Among the red wines the most important is the Cannonau di Sardegna, full and robust wine, along with Monica, a red from the intense aroma and dry. Besides these, three more wines: the Carignan delSulcis, the Mandrolisai and Campidano of Terralba, dry wines and light.

Among whites the most famous are the Vermentino di Sardegna, light and fruity, Vermentino di Gallura, the strongest for alcohol alcoholic and one DOCG across Sardinia, Cagliari Nuragus, crisp taste and fruity dall'aroma, and Semidano of Sardinia, dry and slightly fruity.

Rich the production of dessert wines. In addition to the typical Vernaccia Cannonau brut and sweet, there is the Moscato di Sardegna, the sweet taste of bitter veiled, wines and liqueur Girò Nasco, liabilities and Torbato Anghelu Ruju, and Malvasia di Bosa and Malvasia di Cagliari, both DOC

Among the spirits, the most popular are the brandy fil'e ferru (from the thread that reported a bottle of grappa concealed illegal underground), the Villacidro and Myrtle famous, very popular liqueur made from alcoholic maceration of the berries or leaves of myrtle wild.