Sulcis Iglesiente, Sant’Antioco: time to eat!

The Sardinian southwest is a rich territory in many ways, especially for  the incredible fresh and delicious food. Land or sea dishes, there is something for all tastes. Are you ready to live the most authentic culinary experience of your holiday in Sardinia? Come with us.

When the days pass slowly between the turquoise water and the green Mediterranean scrub, appetite comes quickly.

The sun goes down, the heat leaves room for the evening cool and the weather is perfect for an outdoor dinner.

A beer, rigorously a typical one, or a local glass of wine will help you to fully understand the true Sardinian essence.

Sant’Antioco, in the heart of Sulcis Iglesiente, offers several opportunities to enjoy a typical dinner with local dishes.

Sant’Antioco, typical seafood dishes

When we think about the Sulcis Iglesiente area, we have to take into account the huge variety of fishes, molluscs and crustaceans offered by the sea. 

A very savoury treasure that the seafood lovers can’t lose, especially for the quality-price ratio that allows you to taste many products freshly caught.

This part of Sardinia, waiting to be discovered, offers delicious cooking and characteristic tastes.

For example?

Murexes

If you really want the authentic sea taste, nothing is better than murexes. 

They aren’t so common but they’re a precious seafood, often served as a starter or main meal.

The preparation of these tasty murexes is really simple: they are boiled in water with garlic and they are served with their shell. If you want you can add lemon juice and salt.

Highly recommended, almost a must, a chilled white wine glass to accompany the murexes.

Fregola with seafood

The absolute protagonist of many traditional dishes is the fregola, a typical Sardinian pasta of oriental origin similar to couscous. Prepared with the durum wheat semolina, it’s handmade with a “rolling” system in a big crock bowl until the creation of little irregular spheres. 

Some families continue to prepare it at home and the production process is a real patrimony of Sardinian tradition.

The fregola is cooked in several recipes, in particular it’s served with seafood like clams and bottarga. It’s cooked like a soup or a risotto, it’s also excellent with a sauce made with fish.

Can you feel the authentic flavour of Sardinia?

In the south-west of Sardinia, even the typical land dishes are very tasty.

The same fregola is prepared by the Sardinian families also with ingredients like meat or vegetables. Between the traditional recipes of Sant’Antioco, we have the fregola with cabbage and olives.

Pani cun Tamatiga (bread with tomatoes)

A genuine and simple taste. While we propose you this food, we imagine the Sardinian grandmothers preparing it for their grandchildren that eat it during a summer evening on a footpath. 

It consists of a bread filled with ripe tomatoes typical of Sulcis Iglesiente. The ingredients are durum wheat semolina and flour, ripe tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, basil and garlic.

It tastes like a vegetable garden, farmland and summer. It’s excellent to eat at room temperature.

Pani cun Tamatiga: it’s not food, it’s an experience to try.

Sant’Antioco nectar: the Carignano

The wine livens up the summer cool evening and encourages, if necessary, smiles and conviviality. 

Carignano is not an ordinary wine, but the fruit of local excellences that are the result of years of dedication and love for the viticulture.

Since ancient times, the Carignano from Sant’Antioco island, cultivated in ungrafted vineyards and without external support structures, has been the reference point for Sulcis viticulture.

In a framework of Mediterranean scrub, strawberry trees, myrtle and juniper, imagine approximately 200 hectares of vineyards.

Do you smell this heady aroma?

A curiosity for you: these vineyards are the only to have survived the destruction of a parasite coming from Europe after the trade globalization from America in 1880: the phylloxera. This is where the name comes from: ungrafted vineyards.

If you need more information, you can visit this page https://cantinesarduspater.it/production/

Last but not least: the sweets from Sulcis!

You can’t leave the table without having eaten the typical sweets.

We propose you the tasty fried ravioli with a crunchy thin paste and a creamy ricotta heart. The sweet tooths will adore them. But if you love the most elaborate flavours: the pardulas will win you over. Made of sheep ricotta, saffron and lemon peel enclosed in a crunchy thin paste of durum wheat semolina, they are perfect to finish your dinner. 

A toast is a must: a myrtle liqueur to deeply connect with the island aromas.

If you prefer something stronger, the filu ‘e ferru, the Sardinian spirit is the best choice. Transparent like water but with an alcohol content above 40 proof, it’s able to burn palates and souls. 

Perfect to cumbidare, that is to invite for a drink, according to the Sardinian hospitality, or to sip at the end of banquets because of its digestive properties.

Cheers!

Find your Sound

If you want to discover the local cuisine and the typical dishes of the popular tradition.

If you prefer a typical dinner instead of the same old menus, we have the sound for you!

Are you ready to taste the authentic Sardinian essence?