We can find a similarity in tastes and
recipes between the provinces of Cagliari and Oristano.
It should be remembered that pasta was invented in Cagliari, Palermo and Genova at about the
same time. This is not just a historical curiosity but also explains Sardinia's age long tradition
of pasta making which bespeaks the high quality of the hard wheat grown in many areas of
Sardinian, one of the types of wheat most in demand in Europe for its high quality. The great
Neapolitan philosopher and historian Benedetto Croce is among those who have claimed that
Sardinia was one of the first places where pasta was made.
One of the most famous Cagliari dishes is "fregula cun cocciula" a soup with cockles, which is
a really a delicious example of sea food cooking.
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Cagliari cuisine has numerous
recipes for "pesce in carpaccio" or "pesce in burrida". "Burrida" is almost dog fish cooked in
tomato sauce and vinegar, or in green sauce with walnuts. There are also numerous recipes for
"gnocchetti" known as "malloreddus" which are different in size, colour and taste because of
the use of saffron and vegetables but almost always served "alla campidanese" with lots of
tomato sauce, chopped sausage and grated pecorino.
The famous wines of the Cagliari area are: the white wine "Nuragus", whose origin date from the
pre-Roman age, "Nasco" which nowadays is being rediscovered again by the best Italian
gourmets, the "Malvasia D.O.C.", the "Girò" and the red wine "Monica".
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Before leaving Cagliari the excellent
sweets called "candelaus" should be mentioned. They are made of very thin slices of fruit and
flower flavoured almond dough covered in icing and "pardulas" which are small cakes stuffed
with sweet ricotta.
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The Sulcis coastline region, in the
south-west of the province of Cagliari, in the areas of Portoscuso, Calasetta, S. Antioco and the
Island of San Pietro, are places of great interest and curiosity for their cuisine. In San Pietro the
cuisine of the Carloforte fishermen with its northern-African and Genoese traditions prevails.
The most famous dishes are: a vegetable soup with "pesto carlofortino", the "pasta con pesto
carlofortino", the "cascà" which is the local cus-cus made of legumi and the various tuna
dishes.
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Portoscuso, as well as Favignana
(Sicily) are the only two Italian cities in which at the end of the Spring season, the great show of
the ritual tuna fishing in the tunny-fishing nets takes place. In Buggerru, not far from Portoscuso,
there is a 'smoke house' which has been operating for few years in which fish and eels are
smoked using Mediterranean shrubs and the bottarga are prepared and the delicious tuna is
tinned.
A famous wine of this area is the red "Carignano from Sulcis" probably of French origin which
nowadays is listed among the most valuable Sardinian red wines.
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