Pecorino and other cheeses
More than 2,000 years ago, Homer and Virgil were already singing the praises of pecorino. Pecorino Sardo is the most emblematic cheese of the island. Made from sheep's milk, it can only be produced in Sardinia and comes in two forms: mild or matured (which requires a longer maturation period, from 2 to 12 months) with a more pungent taste. Despite its name, Pecorino Romano is indeed produced in Sardinia - but also in Lazio - and requires a maturation period of 5 to 8 months. Finally, fiore sardo
is a hard cheese, made from whole sheep's milk, which is smoked before maturing for a minimum of 105 days. These three cheeses have a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta). Bonassai is a soft cheese with a thin rind that requires less than a month of maturing. Casizolu is a cow's milk cheese also known as peretta or "little pear" because of its shape. Ricotta is a creamy cheese produced in the southern half of Italy. Finally, Dolce Sardo is a cow's milk cheese known for its very short maturation period, giving it a thin whitish rind and a creamy paste with a delicate flavour.Sardinia is also known for some oddities such as callu
, produced with the milk contained in the abomasum, an organ that is part of the stomach of lambs and kids before they start grazing. After slaughtering, these abomasums are collected, salted and hung until they are completely dry. The milk curdles naturally thanks to the presence of rennet, giving a very strong cheese. This very old technique is the basis of today's cheeses. However, the prize for strangeness goes to casu marzu, literally "rotten cheese" in Sardinian. This is actually a pecorino sardo in which cheese midges(Phiophila casei) are allowed to lay their eggs. The larvae feed on the cheese and, with their digestive enzymes, dissolve the inside of the casu marzu, which is transformed into a very pungent cream that is eaten by spreading it on the bread, on which the maggots can be seen wriggling. This product - considered technically spoiled - is banned from sale in the EU. It is often cited as the most dangerous cheese in the world, as the enzymes produced by the maggots can cause vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain, although the effects seem to be greatly exaggerated.Bread, cold cuts and olive oil
The best known Sardinian bread is pane carasau, an extremely thin, crispy round bread nicknamed carta da musica (music paper), usually served hot and drizzled with olive oil. Very similar, the pistoccu is distinguished by its rectangular shape. The coccoi bread - made from durum wheat flour - is characterised by its very dense crumb and its varied shapes, always chiselled with small spikes. The civraxiu
is a more classic bread, rather soft, made from wheat semolina.As in the rest of Italy, the island's charcuterie is excellent. The terms salciccia and salame refer to two types of more or less dry sausages similar to salami, often flavoured with fennel seeds and sometimes smoked (affumicata). Lardo al mirto
is a type of bacon made almost entirely of fat, flavoured with myrtle leaves. 50 000 hectares of Sardinian territory are devoted to olive cultivation. Olive oil is produced all over the island, each region giving it its particular flavour and fragrance. Theextra virgin olive oil of oliva di Sardegna D'Olia has a DOP. Sardinia lends itself very well to the production of honey. Honey from the strawberry tree, a local tree, is known for its surprisingly bitter flavour.The classics of Sardinian cuisine
Often considered the "poor man's dish" par excellence, pane frattau is made of pane carasau, re-wetted, then covered with tomato sauce, pecorino cheese and a poached egg. Panada sarda is a pie filled with pasta, lamb, potato and tomato, while pizzetta sfoglia is a small turnover filled with tomato purée, capers and anchovies. The tortino di carciofi is an artichoke flan with pecorino cheese. The zuppa gallurese - despite its name - is not a soup but a gratin made of bread soaked in meat broth and cheese. Finally, su filindeu
is a soup from Nuoro made of vermicelli in the form of thin slabs that are broken and cooked in a broth with pecorino cheese.Pasta is very popular in Sardinia. The most famous are the culurgiones. These delicious ravioli, shaped like pleated slippers, are usually topped with tomato sauce. The filling consists of potato, pecorino cheese and fresh mint. Malloreddus are Sardinian gnocchi made of semolina. They are sometimes coloured with saffron. They are commonly served with a tomato sauce with sausage meat (malloreddus alla campidanese). Otherwise try the macarrones de busa, long thick pasta in tubes, or the lorighittas in the shape of twisted rings from Morgongiori. Finally, fregola is made of small balls of semolina grilled in the oven and cooked in a broth. The most famous recipe is fregula cun còciula or fregola con arselle
, with clams.In fact, pasta is often served with seafood. For example, spaghetti all'astice (lobster), all'aragosta (lobster) or ai ricci (sea urchin coral). The spaghetti alla bottarga is garnished with bottarga di muggine: these dried and smoked mullet roe pockets are a good accompaniment to pasta seasoned with olive oil and parsley. Other dishes include burrida a sa casteddaia, a small shark in a walnut and wine sauce, or pesce a scabecciu, a fish cooked in a vinegary tomato sauce.Aragosta alla catalana (lobster) or tonno alla catalana (tuna) is a hot and cold dish of fish or seafood, served on a bed of fresh tomatoes and onion with olive oil. Cassola sarda is a seafood soup flavoured with tomato. For those who like the unusual, try orziadas
, fritters of sea anemones, served with lemon. Porceddu is the great speciality of Sardinia. These suckling pigs, roasted over a wood fire and flavoured with wild myrtle leaves, are offered in some restaurants and in agritourism farms. Artichokes, a popular vegetable, are a delicious accompaniment to lamb in the recipe for agnello con carciofi, unless you prefer beef with su ghisadu, a stew flavoured with tomato and red wine. Offal is also an important part of Sardinian cuisine, and can be found in a number of recipes: zimino (calf's intestines and guts), which is traditionally served with vegetables - raw or cooked - during summer festivities originating in the town of Sassari, called ziminadda; sa trattalia, skewers of goat or sheep offal (heart, liver, tripe, etc.); or sa cordula, a dish made from goat or sheep offal.Another local product is sa cordula, which is made of lamb intestines, grilled for a long time over an open fire. Another local product is snails, which are very popular. The Sardinian lumache or Sardinian snails are cooked in a tomato, parsley, garlic and chilli sauce.Dolci sardi and alcohols
Honey, almonds, orange peel, raisins, ricotta and saffron are the basic ingredients of most of the island's dolci . Different cakes are prepared for each festival and some of them are real works of art. Seadas or sebadas are the most popular Sardinian desserts. They are filled with fresh cheese (unripened pecorino) and served hot, flavoured with orange peel and covered with honey. Pistiddu
, pies filled with orange peel and a paste of grape must, are traditionally offered in January during the Santo Antonio festivities.Amarettus or amaretti di Oristano, crunchy almond biscuits, are eaten at coffee time. Pardulas are tartlets made with ricotta, eggs and saffron, typical of Easter, while pabassinas, decorated with grapes and nuts, are Christmas shortbread. Pastissus, biscuits filled with marzipan, are decorated with a pure white icing. Just like pistoccheddus, lemon shortbread rings. The Belvì caschettes, rose-shaped doughnuts, are filled with a hazelnut paste, perfumed with honey and orange peel. They were offered to the bride on her wedding day. Finally, let us also mention the aranzadas, bites mixing almonds, honey and candied orange peel, the gueffus, specialties of Ozieri, in the form of almond balls with orange blossom and the candelaus
, made of marzipan coated with sugar and very finely decorated.In Sardinia, wine has an extremely ancient history. The island's particular climate produces quality wines that compete with the best wines from other Italian regions: 17 Sardinian wines have a DOP. Among the reds comes first the cannonau - the most used grape variety in Sardinia - representing more than 20 % of the surface exploited on the island. Carignano and monica are also not to be forgotten. On the white side, vermentino is the most produced wine in Sardinia. Nuragus is a white wine cultivated in the regions of Cagliari and Oristano. Finally we will stop on the vernaccia and muscats of Sardinia like malvasia, nasco and moscato.
Grappa, the traditional grape brandy, has a higher alcohol content and is flavoured with herbs. Generally, its alcohol content is around 40°, but homemade it can reach 70°. The mirto is a pure Sardinian myrtle alcohol. Distilled from the berries of this scrub plant, which can be found all over the island, its alcohol content reaches 30-35°. At the end of the meal you will be served a small glass, usually iced. There is a white variant of this liqueur, usually red, obtained from the leaves, not the berries of the plant.
