At The Fruity Tart, one of our favourite types of food is Italian. However, there is not just one type of food from Italy, as each of the country’s regions uses different ingredients, has its own style and is known for unique regional dishes. One of the regions is Sardinia, and Sardinian cuisine is amazing.
Sardinia, the second largest of the Italian islands, is one of the 20 Italian regions, although it was not part of Italy until 1861. It is known for its diverse and delicious cuisine that uses produce widely available on the island.
Much of the food in Sardinian cuisine is similar to traditional Italian cuisine. However, other cuisines also influence Sardinian food, including cuisine from countries that have either invaded or ruled Sardinia. These influences include Roman, Spanish, Arabic, and Carthaginian cuisines.
Here is an overview of traditional Sardinian cuisine, including the ingredients the Sardinians commonly use and some of the most popular Sardinian dishes.
Lamb
Most people assume Sardinian cuisine consists of fish and seafood dishes because Sardinia is an island. However, while many dishes contain these ingredients, most dishes in Sardinia are meat-based, and lamb is the most common meat used because the island is home to approximately three million sheep.
A popular dish is a spit roast lamb or large lamb chunks served with artichokes and olives. The Sardinians don’t waste any part of the animal, so their cuisine includes dishes such as lamb’s feet in tomato sauce or lamb’s liver cooked with olives.
Fish and Seafood
Many types of seafood and fish are eaten in Sardinia, including sea bass, lobster, tuna, sea urchins, red mullet, eels, and mussels. Bottarga is another regularly used ingredient. It is the roe of tuna or grey mullet that is sun-dried, salted and then pressed. Often, it is grated or sliced and served on toasted bread.
Cheese in Sardinian Cuisine
The islanders produce a range of cheese, but Sardinia is particularly famous for pecorino romano cheese. It is a cheese made from sheep’s milk. Sardinia was once known for casu marzu, a rotten sheep’s milk cheese with maggots that is also called Formaggio Marcio. It is now illegal to sell casu marzu for hygiene reasons, but people can get hold of it on the black market. Some other Sardinian cheeses include Brigante, Capra Sarda, and Fiore Sardo DOP.
Pasta
One of Sardinia’s main kinds of pasta is fregula, influenced by North Africa’s cuisine. It is served with pasta sauces or used in soups. One of the best dishes that use this pasta is trattoria l’assassino, a seafood broth with mussels and clams. Another popular Sardinian pasta is malloreddus, oblong-shaped pasta sometimes called gnochetti sardi. People often serve it with a sauce of tomatoes and sausages.
Fire-Cooked Dishes
A traditional Sardinian method of cooking is using open flames. Spit roast lamb, goat, or suckling pig are cooked for events and large gatherings. Another popular dish is wild boar cooked in a covered fire pit.
Bread in Sardinian Cuisine
Bread is one of Sardinia’s staple foods, and there are over 400 varieties available on the island. The most traditional of these is pane carasau, a thin, circular flatbread. Shephards originally ate the bread while tending their flocks. Most people serve it simply with salt and olive oil.
Famous Dishes in Sardinian Cuisine
The diversity and freshness of Sardinian cuisine are why everyone at The Fruit Tart loves it so much. Here are some of the most popular Sardinian dishes.
- Cassola: A seafood soup containing fish, molluscs, and crustaceans
- S’aligusta a sa casteddaja: Catalan-style lobster
- Spaghitus cun arritzonis: spaghetti with sea urchin and wild asparagus or artichoke
- Fregula cun cociula: Fregula with clams
- Zuppa gallurese: Sardinia Unlimited says the dish is slices of bread and cheese covered with a broth and baked
- Culurgiones: Pasta dumplings filled with potatoes, cream, and mint, then topped with tomato sauce
- Octopus salad
- Lamb with artichokes
You might also like to read our posts about the cuisines of Trentino-Alto Adage, Sicily, Piedmont, and the Aosta Valley.