Penisola del Sinis, seafood for fine palates
Malloreddus: gnochetti (dumplings) of semolina (hard seed corn), generally handmade. This is one of the typical Sardinian “primi piatti” (first dishes). Malloreddus are usually served with tomato sauce and grated cheese (Fiore Sardo, Pecorino Sardo or Pecorino Romano). However, the recipe of Oristano propose a very tasty variation: boil chard and spinach, then in the same water cook the malloreddus "al dente", before positioning them into a backing-tin with alternated layer of vegetables and grated cheese (Fiore Sardo, Pecorino Sardo or Pecorino Romano), arriving nearly to the edge. Then, add a couple of eggs “in camicia”, fresh cream, and bake in the oven.
Spaghetti alla bottarga (fish eggs): bring the spaghetti to the boil, then pass them into a pan where had been warmed some olive oil with bottarga (dried mullet eggs). Pan-fry them for a minute and now they are ready to eat.
Spaghetti ai ricci (sea-urchins): savory version of spaghetti in tomato sauce, use sea-urchin fresh pulp roasted with olive oil and basil. The spaghetti have to be drained “al dente” , then pan-fry them with the sea-urchin and basil sauce.
Spaghetti with clams: cook the spaghetti “al dente” then, pan-fry them with clams, garlic and parsley. The clams bred in the lagoon of Marceddì are particularly renowned.
Pillus: is a type of homemade pasta, similar to the tagliolini. It is normally cooked in meat's stock (especially beef) and, after drained, it is mixed with lots of Pecorino Sardo.
Fregola: thick semolina usually handmade (with water and salt) made into small balls: tried in the hot oven for few minutes. The fregola can be combined with meat 's stock or with clams and garlic or fresh tomatoes, garlic and chopped onion.
Zuppa di pesce (fish soup): fry in a pan olive oil, garlic, chopped onion and parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, after about then minutes add the gutted and scaled fishes: position them according to their cooking time (preferred are normally eel, red/rose fish, grey mullet, black-tail, mullet, cuttlefish, octopus, mackerel, red mullet, crabs, magnosa). Then add a couple of cookwares of water, a little bit of white wine, depending on the quantity. Serve hot with toasted bread or the typical tarts, traditionally eaten by sailors and fishermen that could not preserve the bread for long time.
Culurgiones: the Sardinian ravioli, called culingionis in other zones of Sardegna, are prepared with a dough of seed corn or flour, eggs, salt and olive oil and a filling of soft cheese or ricotta, chard or spinach, eggs, butter and saffron. All dressed in tomato sauce and grated Sardinian cheese. These are considered a speciality of San Vito. Very tasty is also the variation filled with potatoes, lard, fresh mint, onion and garlic chops.
Panàda di anguille (eels panada): puff pastry of flour and lard filled with tiny slices of marinate ell, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley. The lamb version is also tasty. Assemini, a little town near Cagliari, host a “panada festival” in July.
Anguille a scabecciu: after having covered (medium-size) eels with thin semolina, fry them, then marinate the eel slices in a sauce of oil, garlic and vinegar, until the pulp get a strong taste.
Ricci di mare (sea-urchins): during fishing authorized time, the sea-urchins are ready to eat, you just need a knife and a teaspoon. The pulp varies in color from orange to purple red, tastes sweet and can be used as a sauce, for example to flavor spaghetti (look at Spaghetti ai ricci). Sea-urchins can be enjoyed along with a dry white wine.
Granchi (crabs): in some places, as in Marceddì, crabs are prepared in several ways. The simplest recipe is to boil the crabs and then flavor them with a little bit of oil and lemon.
Burrìda: little slices of sea black-mouthed, boiled in salted water and marinated for about four hours in a particular tasty sauce (chop the black-mouthed liver together with nuts, garlic and parsley, fry it and flavor it with vinegar, cook using a low flame). This dish is better serve cold, perhaps as a starter.
Triglia (surmullet) all’oristanese: gut the red mullets, flour and deep fry them. Drain and make them absorb the oil with blotting paper. Then, add a sauce made with fried oil, garlic, parsley, capers and red hot chilly peppers and tomatoes pulp puree. Cook the all with an hint of Vernaccia and serve it warm.
Spigola (branzino) alla Vernaccia: after being gutted and washed carefully, the Branzino is cooked on low flame in a pan with Vernaccia wine. Black olives are usually added during the cooking process. It is best served worm.
Orata (Gilthead seabream) al forno: the Gilthead seabream has to be gutted and washed carefully, then put it in a pan with a thin layer of salt, pepper and olive oil. Add black olives, bay leaves and Vernaccia. Cook it on a low flame and serve it.
Mrecca: is a typical dish of the fishermen, who staying away from their home even for days, need medium-long life food. Gut medium-size mullets, boil them in water and salt, dry and cover them in salt. Then, wrap them up in leaves of zibba (a palustral plant present in the marshes of Arborea territory) and leave them there for an entire day.
Pesci a scabecciu: gut the fishes (like mullet adapted to be fried) and bread them in thin semolina, fry them in a pan full of olive oil and once gilded, leave to marinate for one day in a sauce of oil, chopped garlic, (roasted) tomato pulp, salt and vinegar. The taste is strong, and it is often exalted by adding chopped black olive and capers.
Tùvuras: tùvuras, delicious and rare “tartufi di mare” that grow in the sandy shorelines of the peninsula of the Sinis. Wash and cut them into pieces, then cook them in a pan with olive oil, garlic, parsley and chopped onion, previously slightly fried. During the cooking time, pour white wine(preferably Vernaccia) to flavor the tùvuras.
