Cuisine of Sardinia

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The cuisine of Sardinia is the traditional cuisine of the island of Sardinia, and the expression of its culinary art. It is characterised by its own variety, and by the fact of having been enriched through a number of interactions with the other Mediterranean cultures while retaining its own identity. Sardinia's food culture is strictly divided into food from the land and food from the sea, reflecting the island's historical vicissitudes and especially its geographic landscapes, spacing from the coastline to the ragged mountains of the interior. The Sardinian cuisine is considered part of the Mediterranean diet, a nutritional model that was proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. [1]

Contents

Seafood

Uncooked fregula UncookedFregula.jpg
Uncooked fregula

Inland and mountain food

First courses

Here are some typical first courses:

NameImageDescription
malloreddus Sardo Cucina, Fitzrovia, London (5147126888).jpg the malloreddus are tapered-shaped durum wheat semolina pasta traditionally flavored with saffron. They are usually seasoned with campidano or sausage sauce, but among the typical recipes there is the variant with casu furriau that is with melted cheese and saffron. They are also known as cigiones in Sassari and Cravaos in Nuoro, and - in Italian - gnocchetti sardi; [2]
the culurgiones Culurgiones.jpg fresh durum wheat dumplings filled with ricotta and mint, or with a filling based on potato, fresh cheese and mint;
lorighittas Lorighittas sardi (36953461766).jpg pasta prepared since ancient times in Morgongiori, a small town in the middle of the island, weaving a double strand of pasta;
macarrones de busa Bucatini allamatriciana.jpg a sort of bucatini made with a special elongated iron;
macarrones furriaosdumplings topped with very fresh pecorino cheese, melted together with the bran to form a sort of cream;
macarrones cravàos, o de punzu or macarrones de ùngia Macarrones.JPG in Gallurese called chiusòni or ciusòni, are particular small dumplings of durum wheat semolina in the form of small cylinders of 3–4 cm in size, spread all over the island but in particular in Gallura; [3]
the fregula Fregola sarda de Chef koketo.jpg a particular dry pasta made from durum wheat semolina, worked in small lumps and used for typical dishes such as fregula with clams or fregula with sauce. It is also used to make soups with meat broths; [4]
Gallurese soup or suppa cuattaa dish consisting of Sardinian bread, casizolu, spices and pecorino cheese, all softened with broth and cooked in the oven;
typical of the Sassarese is the fabadda (favata)traditionally prepared during the carnival period, which consists of a soup made with dried beans, cabbage, fennel, pork rind and pork;
panadaan empanada made with puff pastry and stuffed with lamb (or eels), potatoes, and dried tomatoes; it is prepared in all the island, being nowadays a specialty of various towns such as Assemini, Oschiri, Berchidda, Pattada, and Cuglieri;
pane frattau or pane carasau Pane Frattau.jpg toasted bread soaked in the broth, arranged in layers interspersed with grated pecorino and tomato sauce and with a poached egg on top;
the soup and 'mercamade with su succu, a particular type of pasta similar to tagliolini, with tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes (depending on the variants), with the final addition of curdled sheep's milk (frue);
filindeu Filindeu in brodo.jpg a pasta that is made only in Nuoro, made with the finest semolina, woven in a particular way and served with sheep's broth and plenty of fresh cheese;
su succufirst dish typical of Busachi, prepared with very thin tagliolini, or angel hair, cooked in sheep's broth, flavored with saffron in stigmas[ clarification needed ], and seasoned with fresh, acidulous pecorino.

Second courses

Porcetto Porcetto sardo 1.jpg
Porcetto
Gamberi Carabineros alla Vernaccia. Carabineros1.jpg
Gamberi Carabineros alla Vernaccia.
Cordula in umido con olive Cordula.jpg
Cordula in umido con olive

Sweets

Even desserts, like the other products of Sardinian gastronomy, vary considerably from region to region. Here are the most known ones:

Copuletas, tipico dolce di Ozieri Copuletas.jpg
Copuletas, tipico dolce di Ozieri
Pan 'e Saba Pan'e Saba.jpg
Pan 'e Saba
Seadas Seadas.JPG
Seadas

Bread

Pane carasau Pane carasadu1.JPG
Pane carasau

Wine

Several vineyards are present in every corner across the island, [7] from the Campidanese and coastal plains, to the hilly and mountainous highlands. The particular composition of the soil and the sunny climate allow for high quality productions. The long winemaking tradition has its roots in the Nuraghic past, and from then on it did not suffer any interruptions since the island never fell under Arab rule, and thus the Islamic prohibition on alcohol did not affect Sardinia at all; on the contrary, winemaking saw a major increase in the Byzantine and the Judgedoms period. Today, there are 15 IGT, 19 DOC and 1 Docg wines on the island. The Cannonau is a typical sardinian red wine very rich in phenols made from Grenache grapes - perfect for red meats.

Cheese

One of the popular cheeses of the area is casu marzu, a Sardinian sheep's milk cheese that contains live maggots to help assist the fermentation of the cheese.

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References

  1. "Unesco: dieta mediterranea; Cappellacci, soddisfazione per riconoscimento a eccellenze agro-alimentari - Regione Autonoma della Sardegna". www.regione.sardegna.it. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. "Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna" (PDF). sardegnaagricoltura.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. "Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna" (PDF). sardegnaagricoltura.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  4. "Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna" (PDF). sardegnaagricoltura.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  5. Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna Archived 4 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna Archived 31 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale della Sardegna" (PDF). sardegnaagricoltura.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2023.

Bibliography