Sardinia Food Travel
Off Italy’s west coast in the Mediterranean Sea lies the beautiful island of Sardinia. Surrounded by clear turquoise waters, Sardinia has a coastline with long sandy beaches and rugged rocky coves.
The Costa Smeralda, or Emerald Coast, in the northeast has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with the resort of Porto Cervo as its pearl.
The southern coast and Sardinia’s capital of Cagliari tends to be less crowded than the north and is a must for beach lovers and sun worshippers.
Beaches and boating aren’t the only reasons to visit Sardinia. The island’s mountainous interior is a hiker’s paradise with enough good trails to keep busy for a week or longer.
Throughout the island are ruins of around seven thousand stone structures called nuraghes (nuraghi in Italian). The history of these rounded Bronze Age towers remains mysterious, though they were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Sardinia does not count the traditional foods found on the Italian mainland as part of its cuisine, but is unique with a distinct culture and cuisine all its own.
Wheat is used in recipes extensively throughout the island to make the traditional thin and crisp flatbread known as Pane carasau, the gnocchi-like pasta called malloredus or gnocchetti Sardi, the Culurgiones dumplings, and a very interesting pasta called fregola, which is small balls of toasted dough.
As for meat specialties, Porceddu — a Sardinian specialty — is suckling pig slow roasted over myrtle or juniper wood.
Surrounded by the sea, naturally lobster, clams, tuna and seasonally available fish are integral to Sardinian cuisine. For the more adventurous, spaghetti with sea urchins is a must-try.
Sardinia showcases its own wines with the red Cannonau (similar to Grenache) being its most popular. With a seafood based cuisine, the straw colored white wine, Vermentino, pairs exceptionally well.
Not exactly a wine but worth mentioning, the delicious Sardinian liqueur Mirto is made from myrtle berries and honey that any Italy foodie should try.
What to Eat in Sardinia
Restaurants in Sardinia
