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Italian Cuisine: A Trip to the Island of Sardinia
The island of Sardinia perhaps most quickly conjures up the idea of
sardines. A small island off of the western coast of Italy, it
certainly incorporates seafood in to much of its regional cuisine.
However, Sardinia has such a rich and various history that it bears
little resemblance to the traditional idea of Italian cooking.
Like many other Italian regional cuisines, Sardinia’s regional taste is
often a surprise for a palette that is expecting red sauce and parmesan
cheese to be the beginning and end of traditional Italian cooking.
While it is a region of Italy, Sardinia’s history is shared with
explorers of many European nations, such as Greece, France, and Spain.
This diverse history of people shows in the traditions and culture of
this isolated island destination.
While, being an island, seafood, especially shellfish, plays a large
part in the regional cuisine of Sardinia, very few Sardinian meals do
not incorporate lamb, a rich resource in the mountainous inland of the
island of Sardinia. In addition to the lamb’s meat, a favorite of
Sardinian chefs, very few meals are complete without the company of
sheep’s milk and wild fennel. Stews and roasts are popular choices for
the people of Sardinia. Looking at any Sardinian recipe, it is easy to
see that the cuisine of this hilly island is a veritable stone soup of
the many different cultures that have passed through the island over
the years.
The seafood traditions of the Greek isles can be found in the mussel
stews and roasted lobster dishes that keep the island’s fishermen busy.
Malloreddus is a Sardinian pasta that can be found in many stews and
pasta dishes accompanying chicken or rabbit basted in fennel or
saffron. Malloreddus is a grooved pasta that very much resembles
gnocchi in taste and texture, and is made of semolina flour and
sometimes seasoned lightly with saffron, while most gnocchi is made
with potato.
Stews are very popular in the regional cuisine of Sardinia, and even
meat and poultry dishes are served in rich cooking sauces that could
just as easily be served as soups. For this reason, accompanying a
Sardinian entrée with a hearty crusted bread or a side of potatoes
makes for a very filling meal. Pasta, in the traditional sense is not
as large a part of Sardinian cooking as in other regions of Italy.
The pastas of Sardinia are more commonly associated with Middle Eastern
cuisine. Hearty grains and fusilli more commonly accompany the dishes
of Sardinian regional cuisine, as opposed the lasagna, spaghetti or
linguine that Americans more commonly associate with Italian cooking.
Between the diverse history of Sardinia’s people, from France to the
Middle East, and the various different landscapes and resources that
can be found throughout the island, it is hard to put Sardinian cuisine
into one category. One thing is for sure though, while you will find
many different types of food on the island of Sardinia, it is unlikely
that you will find anything like it anywhere else in the world.
Home > Cuisines > Italian Cuisine
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