Festive Cuisine in Sardinia is a pleasure for both palate and eyes
The flavours of traditional Sardinian cuisine add to the festive atmosphere and fill the heart.
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Sardinia are an all-encompassing experience: the festive atmosphere, the warmth of the family and the pleasure of tasty traditional dishes.
The holiday menu usually includes typical regional recipes for the first courses, the second courses and the desserts to create an even sweeter atmosphere.
First courses
The first courses of the festive table in Sardinia are unique and completely different from any other part of Italy. A great classic are the culurgiones, homemade dumplings with a characteristic crescent shape, the fresh pasta dough is pinched with the fingers to create an “ear of grain” pattern. This is an art that is handed down from mother to daughter.
They are a symbol of affection and respect, depending on the area they are stuffed with different ingredients: potatoes, onions, pecorino or eggs, saffron, fresh goat or sheep ricotta, or even chard, spinach and Sardinian pecorino. The dressing includes tomato sauce and a sprinkling of grated aged cheese.
There are also semolina dumplings with lamb sauce, a highlight of the local pastoral tradition, spaghetti with vegetables and fish and fregula, durum wheat semolina pasta produced on the island that comes in the form of round grains of various sizes and which, usually, is accompanied with seafood sauces.
Delicious and very typical is also lamb broth, which is served hot and enriched with celery, potatoes, carrots, and a slice of fresh cheese.
On the tables of Gallura and Barbagia is common to find carasau bread lasagna. These large sheets of bread are immersed in lamb broth and then placed in a baking dish greased with oil and layered with pecorino cheese and meat sauce.
Second courses
Sardinian meat is traditional in pastoral cuisine: one of the tastiest dishes is lamb roasted on a spit, whose preparation needs to start at least two hours before lunch.
Just before starting, the head of the family prepares “sa cordula“. The liver, heart and lungs of the lamb, which must be cooked slowly, are put on the spit.
At the end of the process, the intestine of the lamb is wrapped on the spit and cooked until it gets a crunchy consistency and a golden colour.
Other unmissable delicacies are baked kid, the classic porceddu (roast piglet), grilled fish with skewers of vegetables and prawns, cuttlefish and mussels, grilled eels and boiled shellfish.
Desserts and Puddings, the real holiday flavours
Desserts arrive at the end of the meal and epitomise all the traditions and flavours of the most magical time of the year.
Christmas dessert par excellence are the pabassinas, large biscuits made of shortbread, almonds, walnuts, raisins, lemon zest and honey.
Some variations involve adding cinnamon or vanilla.
Other typical puddings are Pan’è Saba made with flour, saba liqueur, walnuts, pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon and almonds, homemade cakes, amaretti, bianchiunus (meringues with toasted almonds) and, for New Year’s Eve, Cabude, sweetened bread with raisins.
All washed down with Mirto liqueur, a classic Sardinian digestive.
The tradition of the festive table at Palazzo Doglio
Palazzo Doglio, the luxury resort in the centre of Cagliari, offers a series of delicious events to experience the holidays while savouring the best of the island’s traditional cuisine.
It starts with the Aperitivo and Christmas Eve Dinner on December 24th. The Aperitivo in the courtyard, from noon to 4 pm, will offer drinks, music and a light lunch while, from 8 pm, the Osteria del Forte will delight with the Christmas Eve Dinner designed by Chef Cocco.
Christmas Lunch on the 25th, at 1 pm, will feature a menu that combines tradition with innovation, still held at the Osteria del Forte and designed by Chef Cocco.
It will start with “Salmon carpaccio with goat cheese and herbs mousse” and “Almond prawns with chickpea cream and polenta chips”, to continue with the classic “Tortellini in brodo” and the “Monkfish risotto with orange peel and pistachio powder.
The second courses are “Fried cod with tomato bread cream and sweet and sour onion” and “Roasted croaker with saffron and truffle artichokes”, followed by two desserts: “Passion Fruit Panna cotta” and “Panettone with vin santo cream”.
New Year’s Eve in the courtyard promises to be unforgettable. The four restaurants of the Corte: Osteria del Forte, Maiori, Colonial and Saudade will offer four special menus designed specifically for the occasion accompanied by music and a countdown to welcome the beginning of the new year in style.
And to better celebrate the magical night of the last day of the year, Palazzo Doglio also offers an exclusive package that includes, among other things, accommodation in an elegant Deluxe room with breakfast at the Osteria Del Forte, New Year’s Dinner, one entrance per person at the Doglio Club SPA and a special 10% discount on any treatment.
To conclude, scheduled at the Osteria del Forte respectively on the 1st and 6th of January from 1 pm, the New year’s Day Brunch and the Lunch of the Epiphany with a menu designed by the Executive Chef.
Would you like to taste the traditional Sardinian dishes of the Holidays and enjoy a stay full of charm and elegance? Book a stay at Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari
