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! 08/09/2014

With shimmering stretches of sand and edible dolce vita, here’s why a trip to Sardinia will belove at first bite…

Before I get down to business, let me just say a romantic mini-break to the Med’s second largestisland was never meant to be a food pilgrimage. We’d actually come here for the promise ofpeace and white dunes. But as lovely and deserted as the beaches were, it very quickly becamean epic eating expedition. So, with the kids temporarily re-homed at casa grandparents, we had 5tantrum-free days to squeeze in 3 destinations and as much food as we could stomach. Sardinia,we decided very early on, is a very good place for the greedy…

Cagliari

A Foodie Tour Of Sardinia

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Sardinia’s cosmopolitan capital, Cagliari, was our first stop. Cuisine here is all about mixing upthe flavours of the ‘terra e mare’ or land and sea. The palm-lined Via Roma, opposite the seafront,has a parade of smart restaurants. In fact, you can shop, eat, shop, eat your way along it. Just anolive’s stone throw behind here, though, is the old town – a squeeze of lanes where, along withmillennia-old sights, we came across no end of authentic trattorias. You know, the type withcreaking walls, beamed ceilings and a merry mamma that delights in your every ‘mmm’. Thestandout meal for me was at old-timer, Lillicu, in the Medieval district. It might look a bit plainJane, but its menu attracts people en masse. We pigged out on ‘orziadas’, sea anemone tentacles,deep-fried to perfection. Trust me, they taste better than they sound. I followed it up with‘fregula’, a resolutely Sardinian pasta similar to couscous. The tiny pebble-shaped balls arehandmade, oven-cooked until toasty and then simmered in garlic and tomato sauce. They’reserved with littleneck clams. It’s a dead simple dish, but I’ve had a love affair with it ever since.

Alghero

Next, we said ‘ciao’ – and ‘hola’ – to lively Alghero on Sardinia’s northwest coast. It’s part-Italian,part-Catalan, so its street signs and menus are often in both languages. Catalan is still spokenhere, too, and we spotted paella and sangria on the chalkboards as we mooched around the oldtown. Looped by chunky walls, the disorganised cobbled streets here are seafood central. Wesomehow managed to resist, though, and dilly-dallied down to the harbour. There’s a morecontemporary nod to food here – Chinese joints, steak houses and the like – but we wanted to gotraditional. We stumbled across teeny Mabrouk. It’s on Via Santa Barbara near the 16 -centuryCattedrale di Santa Maria. Forget poring over a menu – there’s just a set-priced seafood feast, soyou have to get into Goldilocks’ mindset and try the lot. Highlights for me were grilled cuttlefishtossed in garlic, olive oil and juicy tomatoes, and ‘burrida’, fish marinaded in garlic, parsley,hazelnuts and vinegar. In all, we hoovered up various starters, 3 pasta dishes and 2 main courses.

Porto Cervo

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Okay, things worth noting about our last stop, Porto Cervo. Hollywood royalty hang out here onmega yachts. Shops sideline souvenirs in favour of Rolex timepieces and Louis Vuitton luggage.And to really join the club, you need billionaire status. We had none of the above, but we didn’tlet that put us off. For a taste of the high life, we booked Gianni Pedrinelli, one of Sardinia’s mostfamous restaurants. Pricey, yes, but worth the just-this-once blowout. Once a private residence,it’s now home to Italian antiques, Moroccan chandeliers, oh and the most glamorous people intown. Not including us, I hasten to add. We went for their famous, and exhaustive, antipasti. Itwas a mountain of goodies including full-of-flavour green ‘camone’ tomatoes, tangy artichokehearts marinaded in spices, chillies and bay leaf, and homemade, thin and crispy ‘carasau’ bread.I followed it up with roasted lamb ragu and ‘cunlingiones’, large ravioli pockets filled with cheeseand mint. Quite how I managed to fit in ricotta with Sardinian honey and zesty lemon sorbet fordessert I’ll never know.

If you fancy a culinary journey of your own, check out our holidaysto Sardinia here.

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2 Responses to “A Foodie Tour Of Sardinia”

Sarah Cox 11/11/2014

HelloMy son lost his small grey toy donkey on flight TOM7740 from Birmingham to TenerifeSouth on Sunday 26 October (we landed 22:00). We were seated in row 34. If anyonefound it on their return flight back to Birmingham, we’d be very grateful for its safereturn as it means so much to us.Kind regards, the Cox-McGlone family

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Alistair 13/11/2014

Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear about your lost toy. If you lost something on the plane,you’ll need to contact the lost property department at the airport you were flying toas this is where things are handed in. I hope this has been returned for you.

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