Fregola or fregula is a pasta variety from Sardinia, made with semolina flour and water. The dough is first rolled into very thick spaghetti, then cut to resemble enlarged couscous pieces, and it is finally toasted in the oven, which is why it has a slightly nutty flavor.
Fregola is most often paired with seafood and cooked like a risotto. For this dish, it is slowly simmered in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and the freshest mixed seafood, soaking up all the juices released during the cooking process. Most often, clams or mussels are used in the dish.
MOST ICONIC Fregola ai frutti di mare
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Widely known as Sardinian ravioli, culurgiònes are a typical dish of Ogliastra. These delicious handmade dumplings are shaped to resemble an ear of wheat, and they are traditionally filled with potatoes, pecorino cheese, lard, onions, garlic, and mint.
Another common filling includes ricotta, spinach or chard, and saffron. Culurgiònes are typically served doused in a flavorful tomato sauce and sprinkled with freshly grated pecorino.
MOST ICONIC Culurgionis d’Ogliastra
Popularly called carta musica, due to its resemblance to an old music sheet parchment, pane carasau is a traditional Sardinian flatbread whose origins have been traced to the Nuragic Age, circa 1900-730 BCE. Because of its long storage life, pane carasau was once a staple food of Sardinian shepherds during their trips to mountain pastures.
This artisan Italian bread is made with durum wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt; it is extremely thin and twice-baked for extra crispness. With quite a unique flavor and a heavy aroma of cereals, barn, and wood-burning ovens, this flatbread is delicious as a cracker and is typically enjoyed as an accompaniment to various snacks, cheeses, appetizers, and soups.