Sardinia, oh Sardinia

WARNING: These photos and messages that entail may be disturbing to some viewers. 


Where to start....

Oh yes, Sardinia!!

that's right. You read my warning. And I did tell you that this trip was all about food: my greatest gastronomic journey yet.
So without fluff and chit chat, let's get down to business folks.

But WAIT!!!! if you are hungry, you may not be suited to view this post. Now is your time. Go grab some snacks quick!!!!






ok, ok. Let us begin the show....

Agriturismo Stazzu Li Paladini

 Everyone knows that the essence of traveling around Italy is to savor their cuisine, and Sardegna is no exception to that. In Sardegna, going to Agriturismo restaurants, (restaurants that are run by local farmers and such who offer particular dishes made from fresh ingredients) would be the best thing to do, if you are looking for an extraordinary gastronomic experience. We went to an Agriturismo called Stazzu near Palau, which we now refer to as "the legend."Anyway, you will have to drive to top of the mountain and wait til they open (at 8:30pm, yes dinner only). 

Piggiesss!!!! Do we eat them? You will see...

We arrived at 8pm so we will have to wait for half an hour. Meanwhile, the restaurant gave us couple glasses of free white wine. That's what I call "southern hospitality." Not quite the same as Ludacris' description but hey! it works for me! 

Finally, hungry as a pair of beasts, we sat down at the table and started devouring Pane Carasau.

It is something between tortilla chips and phyllo. It's thin and crunchy and you eat it like bread. It seems so light so you just forget how much you eat BUT!!! Be careful because you don't wanna be too filled up before the real meal.  Now with a litter of red wine, we are all pumped and ready for war.

Variety of cold cuts, including salumi, lardo and crudo and such. 

The further dish behind cold cuts  was cooked pork (i think) marinated in pickled cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, and onion. It was meaty and tangy at the same time. My favorite appetizers among all!

Roasted zucchini: I think the inside was taken out and mixed with some honey and cheese and then put back to its skin casing. It had natural sweetness similar to pumpkin. Mmmmm delish... 

Mazza Frissa; a traditional dish made of flour, honey and cream. It's definitely heavy but soo sooooo good. It was warm and sweet and fatty and so comforting. 

Polenta cooked with pancetta. Unlike liquid-y gooey polenta, these were cubed. It had also some sweetness but subtle enough to not taste like desert. 

NOW, these were only APPETIZERS. In the midst of devouring, we reminded ourselves that there are first courses AND second courses after these so we fought the urges to finish everything and left some room for our stomach. Nonetheless, everything was so delicious it was difficult to not clean up the plates. 

Now, top photo is ravioli stuffed with ricotta and honey with tomato sauce. It was so particular, as I never ate pasta that had sweetness. Honey is frequently used in Sardinian cuisine and I thought it was weird that savory dishes would have honey in it. But I stand corrected; it was AWESOME.

Below is gnochetti (small gnocchi-like pasta) with white ragu (meat sauce without tomatoes). Oh man it was so meaty and heavy and greasy and indeed heavenly.

Below was Zuppa Galluresi. Zuppa means "soup" in Italian so I was relieved for a few seconds thinking it would be a light dish. I was SO WRONG. This was the heaviest dish among all. Basically these are panfried cheese-ball-like-casserole with meat in it. Enough said. At this point, our stomachs were on the verge of exploding. 

Veggies ( i think fennel?) that helps you digest before you move on to second course. 

The main and famous dish; roasted pork. Remember the piggies in the photo? That's right. 

It might sound cruel to those who practice veganism and vegetarianism BUT I think this way, we could really appreciate the life that was sacrificed to feed us. Beside the meat, there was also homemade sausage.

NOW dessert: Seadas. We only got one dessert instead of TWO for each person. This is also particular dish from Sardinia. Dough stuffed with gooey Pecorino cheese and fried. You eat it with honey on top. Heavy? Absolutely. Delicious, OHHH YOU BET.

Two digestives: Red Mirto and white Mirto. Digestive that is very local to Sardinia region. It is made from the myrtle plant that grows in the region. It has herbal, almost tea-like aroma and is very sweet. Perfect ending for such hearty and filling meal... and of course, espresso afterwards. 

Thus was the ENTIRE meal, which we sat through for two and a half hours. 

Everything pretty much was home-made, home-grown and freshly cooked.

"Oh it must be expensive...being all organic and stuff..." you may wonder.

The whole package?

35 euros per person. 

Unfreakingbelievable.

We were stuffed til the next night. 

If you have a chance to visit Sardinia, please visit Stazzu.

Info Here: http://www.agriturismolipaladini.com/

Next post will be about another agriturismo that we visited! Stay tuned and be hungry!