In Sulcis-Iglesiente typical courses for every taste
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, in Sulcis is also made of tuna). Pan-fry them for a minute and now they are ready to eat.
Malloreddus: gnochetti (dumplings) of semolina (hard seed corn), generally handmade. This is one of the typical Sardinian “primi piatti” (first courses). Usually served with tomato sauce and grated cheese (Fiore Sardo, Pecorino Sardo o Pecorino Romano). In the Sulcis-Iglesiente they are flavored with roasted fresh sausage, in Nuxis with pork meat sauce and wild fennel. The Malloreddus of Capoterra instead, are much smaller than those normally eaten in the rest of Sardinia.
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.
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.
Spaghetti alla carlofortina: After boiling the spaghetti, flavour them with a tasty sauce of fresh tuna fish, chopped tomatoes and pesto (alla genovese).
Fregola: thick semolina usually handmade (with water and salt) made into small balls: dried in the hot oven for few minutes. Fregola can be combined with meat 's stock or with clams and garlic or fresh tomatoes, garlic and chopped onion.
Culurgiones: the Sardinian ravioli, called Culingionis in other zones of Sardinia, 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. Very tasty is also the variation filled with potatoes, lard, fresh mint, onion and garlic chops.
Ricci di mare (sea-urchins) : during fishing authorized time, the sea-urchins ( called "boga marì" in Algherese dialect) 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). Serve with white dry wine.
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.
Cous-cous: traditional North-African dish, that from more than one century has been integrated into the typical cuisine of Carlo Forte and Calasetta . It is called Cascà and it is the classical “piatto unico” main course, in facts, among the ingredients there are several vegetables and roasted pork meat. In Carloforte (Isola di San Pietro), chickpeas are also added. According to the area, as the variegated recipes from Magreb teach us, other kind of meat can be used ( lamb, beef, poultry) and sometimes it can even be mixed with fish.
Tranci di tonno arrosto (slices of roasted tuna fish): tuna fish is typical of Carloforte, inoccasion of the slaughter, the Isola di San Pietro is assaulted by tourists that can taste this fish in several ways (look at Spaghetti alla carlofortina). One of the most frequent recipe is as follows: marinate tuna fish in a sauce of olive oil, parsley, chopped onions, lard, white vinegar, salt and pepper. Subsequently, roast the slices and dip them into lemon juice.
Pilau: lobster and other shellfish (scampi, king prawns) chopped and roasted with olive oil and onion pieces, then cooked by a side with fresh tomato daces, chopped parsley, pepper and salt. When it is ready add fregola (a kind of thick semolina). This is a typical dish of Calasetta.
