Sa suppa, characteristic “poor” dish of Baronìe
Sa suppa: typical specialty of Baronìe, similar to “sa suppa cuata” prepared in Gallura. In the past, it was only proposed on occasion of wedding banquets. It is a “poor” dish of the shepherds tradition, normally made with slices of bread ( even if not baked on the day), fresh cheese, Pecorino Sardo or grated Fiore Sardo, aromatic chopped herbs ( parsley, mint, oregano, wild fennel, nutmeg); adding sheep's stock, separately prepared, and then put in the oven. Sa suppa is best served warm or lukewarm.
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.
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 typical anchovies tarts, traditionally eaten by sailors and fishermen that could not preserve bread for long time.
Malloreddus: gnochetti (dumplings) of semolina (hard seed corn), generally handmade. This is one of the typical Sardinian “primi piatti” (first dishes). Usually served with tomato sauce and grated cheese (Fiore Sardo, Pecorino Sardo o Pecorino Romano).
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.
Filindeu: “angel hair” (really thin pasta entrenched) cooked in sheep stock and flavored with “casu axedu”, fresh and sour cheese proper for soups which melt in tasty stings. According to the the tradition of Barbagie, this dish should be eaten on special occasion. Some like to mild the strong sheep's flavor using also few pieces of beef.
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.
Porchetto arrosto (roast suckling pig): spit-roast suckling pig is one of the typical Sardinian dishes, but it is not easy to prepare. The cooking procedure is long and lot of attention is required to obtain savory meat not dried with a crunchy rind. The pork has to be turned over at the right distance from the flame, and it has to be oiled with the shortening of the fused lard. Su porceddu (this pork) is usually presented in every agritourism (farm), trattoria, restaurant, according to the gastronomy tradition of Sardinia .
Cinghiale in umido (wild boar): even if the boar is an animal similar to the wild pig, its meat is more difficult to cook, as it is not really tender. The secret of a tasty boar's dish consists on marinating its meat into the wine, with chopped onion and some myrtle leaves. It is better served warm with a good red wine.
Agnello arrosto (roast lamb): it is one of the gastronomic specialties of Sardinia, but the quality of the meats depends especially on the amount of pasture available on the territory and its conditions. As for the suckling pig, the lamb's cooking procedure require a certain experience in order to avoid the dryness of the meat from the right quantity of lard.
Interiora allo spiedo (spit-roast offal): intestines, liver and heart of kid or lamb, washed carefully and immersed in water and vinegar, then entrenched with little juniper branches and broiled.
Favata: broad bean soup, (left in bain-marie for at least one day), lard and pork's meat in pieces, cabbage, wild fennel, sun-dried-tomatoes, and chopped onion, garlic, carrot and fennel. It is better tasted lukewarm. The favata should be possibly served on a soup plate with slices of toasted bread on the bottom.
Prosciutto crudo (raw ham): from pork' thighs (wild swines have tender meat) is obtained a really good ham. Meats are salted and slightly smoked, before being dried. The seasoning process demands a fresh, dark and ventilated place (usually the wine cellars of the houses). On mountain zones it is served cut in thick slices (a centimeter of thickness, or more). Very appreciated is the wild boar's ham, but this is produced only in few localities.
