Sardinia - page 2

Sardinia maintains a strong and active culture of festivals. Many are religious celebrations; others are rites related to the agricultural calendar. See Page 60 for more information on these events. Sardinia's eating habits reflect the untamed emptiness of much of the island. Many people follow the centuries-old practice of making their own staples, including wine, olive oil and bread. Family gardens provide fresh artichokes, fennel, celery, tomatoes, eggplant, fava beans and many other vegetables and herbs. Homemade sausage and cheese are common elements of the diet.Spit-roasted meat, especially a whole lamb, goat, wild boar or suckling pig (porceddu), is a defining feature of an authentic Sardinian feast. During roasting, the meat is seasoned with salt, herbs and sometimes a touch of flavorful lardo, cured pork fat. The meat is slowly rotated over the fire until the skin is crackling and the meat is juicy. Sardinian meat typically has a complex and aromatic flavor due to the wild berries and herbs on which the animals graze. A branch of aromatic wood such as juniper, olive or corbezzolo (arbutus) is used as a spit, while more branches are tossed into the fire to add flavor through their perfumed smoke. A more unusual cooking method, called a carraxiu, is to bury the meat in a pit lined with aromatic wood and herbs (rosemary, bay leaves and others), and light a bonfire over it. The heat cooks the meat very slowly, sealing in the juices and the aroma of the herbs and wood. This technique was supposedly used by bandits who stole their dinner from someone else's flock and needed to hide the evidence. Roasted meat or poultry is frequently flavored by wrapping it in the shiny, green leaves of the myrtle plant, which grows wild throughout Sardinia. The blue-violet berries of this evergreen shrub are steeped in alcohol, water and sugar or honey to make mirto liqueur, a sweet after-dinner drink.

Sardinian cheese, especially pecorino, has a delicious flavor profile for the same reason the meat is so tasty-the flavorful shrubs and plants that make up the sheep's diet. One cheese, casu marzu (Sardinian for "rotten cheese"), is only for those with iron stomachs: It is deliberately implanted with tiny, jumpy larvae that give it a strong flavor and a creamy consistency. The cheese is usually spread on bread-live worms and all-and washed down with wine. Sardinians go crazy for fresh bread-there are said to be more than 500 types that vary from town to town. Baked goods are sculpted into decorative shapes on holidays, such as the su pistiddu cake eaten on Saint Anthony's Day. Yet, the most famous Sardinian bread is the hard, thin flatbread called pane carasau or the slightly crisper carta da musica (literally "music paper," named for the thin parchment once used for sacred music scores). This dry bread is a staple for shepherds on their long treks away from home. Softened in water and layered with tomato sauce and a poached egg, it becomes pane frattau. Hundreds of different pastries, cookies and cakes are served on special occasions. Almonds, cheese, citrus, anise, saffron and bitter honey-a dark concoction made by bees who feed on the bitter red fruit of the corbezzolo-are common flavorings for sweets. Sardinia's pasta shapes are unique, including malloreddus-small ridged curls often called gnocchetti sardi-and fregula, similar to couscous. Piedmontese rule in the late 18th century introduced an assortment of stuffed pastas. Coastal areas make use of the wide variety of fish and seafood from the unpolluted waters. All types of seafood, from sea urchins and baby crabs to octopus and rock lobster, are considered delicacies. Fish is used for spicy soups, or prepared simply with saffron or white wine. Bottarga, a salty delicacy made from mullet roe, appears frequently in pasta or is simply sliced and served with lemon and olive oil as an appetizer. Despite Sardinia's emphasis on the food of the land, no trip to the island is complete without a lavish seafood feast.