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Sardinia cuisine

Sardinia's cooking is pastoral and island-bound: suckling pig roasted with myrtle, sheep's-milk pecorino, saffron and durum semolina, bottarga and clams from the lagoons, and the crisp carasau bread of the shepherds. Its wines are Vermentino - crisp on Gallura's granite - and the warm Cannonau and Carignano reds, with Vernaccia di Oristano and Malvasia di Bosa for the sweets.

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Antipasto

Bottarga di MuggineCured grey-mullet roe

Salted, pressed and dried grey-mullet roe from the Cabras lagoon, shaved thin over bread and oil or grated onto pasta - Sardinia's 'sea gold'.

grey mullet roeolive oil
Wines to drink with it
  • Vermentino di Gallura DOCG The granite Gallura Vermentino's salinity and grip match the intense, briny roe.
  • Vermentino Vermentino's citrus and sea-breeze freshness lift the cured roe.
Pane FrattauLayered carasau bread with tomato and egg

Sheets of crisp carasau bread softened in broth and layered with tomato sauce, grated pecorino and a poached egg - a shepherd's dish of the Barbagia.

carasau breadtomatopecorinoegg
Wines to drink with it
  • Cannonau di Sardegna DOC A medium Cannonau suits the tomato, cheese and egg without overpowering them.
  • Monica The soft, fragrant Monica red is an easy everyday match.

Primo

Fregola con ArselleToasted semolina pearls with clams

Hand-rolled, toasted semolina 'fregola' cooked risotto-style with small clams (arselle), tomato and garlic.

fregolaclamstomatogarlic
Wines to drink with it
CulurgionesWheat-eared stuffed pasta

Pasta parcels closed with a wheat-ear pleat, filled with potato, pecorino and mint, dressed simply in tomato and cheese - the pride of the Ogliastra.

pastapotatopecorinomint
Wines to drink with it
  • Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Cannonau's warmth and soft tannin match the rich potato-and-cheese filling.
  • Monica Monica's gentle red fruit flatters the minty, cheesy parcels.
Malloreddus alla CampidaneseSaffron gnocchetti with sausage ragù

Ridged semolina 'gnocchetti sardi', often saffron-scented, in a ragù of fresh sausage and tomato with grated pecorino.

malloreddussausagetomatosaffron
Wines to drink with it

Secondo

PorcedduSpit-roasted suckling pig

A whole suckling pig slow-roasted on a spit over aromatic wood and rested on myrtle branches, the skin crisp and the meat sweet.

suckling pigmyrtle
Wines to drink with it
  • Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Cannonau is the island's born partner for roast pork - its herbal warmth echoes the myrtle.
  • Cannonau Cannonau's ripe fruit and soft tannin match the sweet, fatty pig.
Zuppa GallureseBaked bread-and-cheese 'soup'

Despite the name, a solid casserole: layers of stale bread soaked in meat broth with sheep's cheese and parsley, baked until golden - the festive dish of Gallura.

breadmeat brothsheep cheese
Wines to drink with it

Dolce

SeadasFried cheese pastry with honey

Large ravioli of thin pastry filled with young sour pecorino, deep-fried and drizzled with bitter honey - Sardinia's cheese dessert.

pastryfresh pecorinohoney
Wines to drink with it