The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Sardinian Foods. If you manage to be in an Sardinian restaurant or you are visiting Sardinia, I recommend the following:
1. Catalan Style Lobster
Catalan-style lobster is a typical dish from Alghero, a Catalan city located in the northwest of Sardinia. This precious crustacean is caught naturally in the sea in the Alghero area. After boiling the lobster, it is served as a kind of salad with fresh tomatoes and onion. We recommend enjoying this dish with a white wine such as Vermentino di Sardegna.
2. Seadas
Seadas, or ‘seada’ in Sardinian, are a traditional Sardinian dessert made with pasta violata, prepared with semolina and lard, filled with cheese flavoured with lemon and then fried. Fresh pecorino cheese is usually used. It is seasoned with honey or hot sugar: orange blossom honey or milflores honey is recommended.
3. Zuppa Gallurese
It is a typical dish of Gallura, the region in the north of Sardinia from Badesi to San Teodoro. The word ‘zuppa (soup)’ immediately suggests a liquid or creamy consistency, but the dish is not actually liquid, although meat stock is used to prepare it. The consistency could be that of lasagne and is made of layers of bread (different types of bread are used depending on the area) covered with cheese and sheep’s broth, all baked in the oven.
4. Suckling Pig
Known here as Porcetto arrosto or porcheddu, this is probably Sardinia’s most famous dish. The suckling pig must weigh between 4 and 6 kilos maximum and is cooked whole on a bed of myrtle leaves. Once cooked, it is served on a cork tray.
5. Bottarga
The botarga is one of Sardinia’s most famous and tasty delicacies. The botarga owes its Sardinian origin to Cabras, a small town on the west coast of Sardinia. It consists of dried mullet roe and can be eaten in thin slices as an aperitif, or in powdered form to season pasta, preferably linguini or spaghetti.
6. Octopus Salad
Sardinian octopus salad is usually served as an appetizer. The main ingredient is obviously the local octopus, which is usually a little smaller than normal, making it more delicate. It is served with boiled potatoes, celery and dressed with olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley.
7. Culurgiones
Among the most consumed pasta in Sardinia is this wonderful dish. Culurgioni are similar to ravioli but usually triangular in shape (although some places make them square or round). The filling consists of a mixture of chard with ricotta or vegetables with cheese. This dish is usually accompanied by a typical Italian sauce and grated sheep’s cheese as a topping. If you are a lover of good pasta, you should not miss this exquisite delicacy.
8. Lamb with Artichokes
Lamb with artichokes is a traditional Sardinian dish, usually cooked at Easter. It is quite easy to find fresh lamb in Sardinia, as well as fresh artichokes, so freshness is guaranteed. The delicious lamb meat together with the artichokes acquires a very rich flavour. The meat is first browned and cooked for about an hour and then the artichokes are added. We suggest tasting this dish with some Vernaccia sarda.
9. Seafood Fregola with Saffron
Fregola, which means breadcrumbs, is a type of pasta typical of Sardinia made of semolina and rolled into small balls. There are many ways of cooking fregola, but the most delicious is undoubtedly fregola with seafood, such as clams and prawns, served with saffron broth and toasted bread. It is also called the ‘red gold’ of Sardinia, because the harvesting of its delicate pistils requires a lot of time and patience and the powder obtained has a value similar to that of gold.
10. Spaghetti with Sea Urchin
Seafood lovers will go crazy for this dish. The best time to enjoy it is from November to April, when the sea urchin season is open. In fact, at other times of the year fishing for this marine delicacy is forbidden and, moreover, during the period when it is allowed, each fisherman can only harvest a limited number of sea urchins, in order to protect this species. We recommend trying this dish in places like Castelsardo or Santa Teresa di Gallura.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.