Sardinia's delicacies

Sardinia is one of the most targeted touristic destinations among Italians and in-the-know Europeans, mainly Germans. Visitors come for the stunning sceneries, beautiful sea and mountain landscapes and historical sites to explore, but only expert travellers with a bit of research behind know that they will also find an unforgettable, delicious cuisine.

Mreca still closed

Having left my hometown eleven years ago, when I started the Uni in Rome, gives me the benefit of being welcomed by all delicatessen every time I come back on holiday. So I'm happy to find home-grown red, plump tomatoes to big, tender fish, home-made crispy bread, tasty meat of beef or pork bred in the wild. And if that's not enough, at the end of every meal typical sweets, cakes, pastries different for every season or festivity are a must.

Opening the mreca

Changing area means also changing food habit: in the district of Nuoro, for example, I find culurgiones or gattò (local adaptation from the French gateau); in Oristano (my area) I’ll find zippole or the ancient fish-based mreca. Everywhere indistinctly, you’ll find the typical regional porcheddu, spit-roasted piglet.

Sea bream with potatoes

Last Sunday was memorable food-wise: wholly fish-based meal beginning with starters of herrings, shrimps all’arrabbiata and home-grown green and black olives. Pasta with seafood followed and prepared for the main courses: a 3-kilo sea bream baked with potatoes and mreca of mullet.

All kinds of cheeses lead the treat towards the end, to “clean the mouth” as local people like to say after lunch, finding the best excuse to enrich the already succulent meal with tasty Sardinian saboridu or seasoned pecorino.

Chilli and normal saboridu

The home-made gattò from Mamoiada along with velveted Italian espresso indicate the end of the meal, friends and family can finally leave the table, still laughing out loud, a bit dazed and only for the bravest, the ammazzacaffé: tasting of lemon, wild fennel or myrtle, rest assured it's available in every Sardinian home.

Homemade gattò from Mamoiada

Surrounded by wild landscapes, softly caressed by a warm breeze, eating earth products immediately taken from the source: it's a tough life.