Sardegna

Sardegna is an island off of the west coast of Italy, north of Sicily. It is obviously surrounded by water, but land is very far from the island. They have some high mountains in the east, while also having some hilly lands where grapes are grown in the west. The land of Sardegna was inhabited by the Nuraghe people, over 4,000 years ago. There are buildings shaped like cones, that archeologists have looked into to find out more about this interesting population. It is at times difficult because this population of people is extremely different from some of the other populations that lived in Italy. The Nuraghe people were good mariners, which made sense being an island in the middle of the sea. The Greeks, Phoenicians, Croatians, and Spanish all influenced Sardegnian culture through trade. There was also trade with the Etruscans as well, which inhabited Tuscany. This Sardegnian people traded wine with the Etruscans because were not growing grapes yet. This population was very strong and did not want to be dominated by anyone.

Okay, so now let's talk about their delicious cuisine! A lot of the Sardegnian people were shepherds, fisherman, or farmers, which created a more poor population of people. The food creating their cuisine made to last a long time because in these professions, they had to work long days. There are some cows, but mainly they are known for their sheep. They produce the majority of Pecorino Romano. In the coastal cities, there is a lot of fish dishes, while in the mountains, they are a bit more hearty. Overall though, the cuisine of Sardegna is very united, unlike a lot of other regions within Italy.

This region also has lobster, aragosta di bosa! These lobsters do not look like the lobsters I am used to though, because they do not have claws. They also have mitili, mussels, and arselle, clams, in this region.

Fun Fact of the Day 
Sardegna has a few DOP and IGP products, most of which are cheese made from sheep's milk. Here are a few:
- agnello Sardo IGP: lamb
- Fiore Sardo DOP: sheep cheese
- Pecorino Sardo DOP: sheep cheese
- Pecorino Romano DOP: sheep cheese
- Olio extra vergine di oliva DOP
- Carciofo Spinoso di Sardegna DOP: artichokes
These artichokes are excellent to be eaten raw, but WARNING! They have a lot of thrones!
- Zafferano di Sardegna DOP: saffron

This region has a strong tradition of small sweets and cookies, more so than they have culinary traditions. Some of the cookies are even filled with different cheeses, like ricotta. The decoration of the cookies are very interesting but extremely intricate. They also have a strong, rich bread tradition, one being the pane carasau. This is one of their most famous breads and is made with durum wheat flour. It is kind of similar to pita bread in terms of how it is cooked, but the flavor is very different. The pane carasau is made very thin and has a very simple taste, making it perfect to be served with something else.

This region produces a lot of wine, but here are just a few of the grapes that they grow:
- Bovale (red)
- Cannonau: This is a red wine that has a very strong flavor with a lot of tannins.
- Cagnulari (red)
- Nasco (white)
- Malvasia (white)
- Moscato (white)
- Vermentino (white)
- Vernaccia (white)

One of the desserts created today were Gesminus, which is basically a meringue with toasted almonds folded into it, then it is baked. The tasted like a sweet almond cookie and I would like to see how these could be elevated. I would consider adding different flavors to the cookie or even trying to make a macaron out of them. How would different flavors affect the outcome of these cookies?

Here are my final tasting notes for the region of Sardegna:
- Both wild arugula and walnuts are used because they are grown wildly in Sardegna.
- Pecorino cheese is used throughout this cuisine because of the amount of sheep they have in this region.
- Saffron is used in some of their dishes, including pasta.
- Both fish & meat is used.
- Vinegar & white/red wine is used in their dishes.
- These are the important vegetables from this region: tomatoes & capers
- A lot of their dishes are made in one pot, making the dishes very flavorful with deep flavors.
- Semolina flour is used often because they produce durum wheat flour and semolina flour is made from durum.
- Almonds & walnuts are used a lot in their sweet desserts.
- Citrus is important to their cuisine with the use of orange and lemon zest.

With love,
Baylee