30 Apr 2020

PILLS OF LONG LIFE FROM SARDINIA, AND LIVE TO BE HUNDRED- pill n. 1

Yacht Itineraries

Sardinia Curiosities

Coming together and sharing a meal is the most communal and binding thing in almost every place in the world. With food we make friends, court lovers, and count our blessings.

Italy is famous for its food and passionate about sharing it with others, even within the same region from coast to coast, it is possible to get a new experience, every time, with different ingredients and sides, moving from town to town dining without tasting the same dish twice!

Food is something very serious to Italians, and each region, each town, each village in Italy will have its own peculiarity, something special and unique to be proud of. Sardinia makes no exception, although there is one thing you need to be aware of: Sardinian food may contain magic properties... It is actually through food that the true vocation of a region, either peasant or seafaring, is unveiled.

Sardinia is known to be one of the five Blue Zones in the world, regions where people, according to National Geographic’s author Dan Buettner, live longer than average with an unusual high number of locals over 100. This peculiar longevity attracted great interest within researchers who specifically focused on lifestyle and diet of our centenarians.

Sardinia has a predominant pastoral tradition, therefore do not be surprised to discover so many maritime specialties along your trip, mainly in all coastal regions, where our Island has been conquered throughout the centuries.

Dabble into a sensorial journey discovering our ancestral food, sailing with us towards an unconventional yacht itinerary, travelling through recipes that might enclose the long life elixir, touched with local folklore, preserved from a generation to the other, exported all over the world, up to your table, anchored just a few hundred meters from the source!

EAST SARDINIA

Ogliastra 

Ogliastra, on the East coast, between Baunei and Lido di Orri, counts the highest number of centenarians involved in the blue zone theory, ninety-year-olds in good health and still active.

Despite its crystalline waters, fish is not the protagonist in Ogliastra! Meat and pasta based dishes rule this area as its inhabitants used to populate the inner part of Sardinia, living of breeding and herding. 
Fish based specialties are predominant in the South-South-West part of the Island instead.

Start your lunch with a typical Sardinian hors d'oeuvre, a must have, at the center of the table, on a rustic oak cork tray with cheeses and meats, on a bed of Pistoccu bread whilst sipping champagne together with your dining companions.

Pistoccu is a very versatile bread. It can be eaten dry and crisp or it can be softened with water or broth, seasoned with tomato sauce and Pecorino cheese or accompanied with meats and cheeses. Pistoccu is a long lasting bread, made of semolina and superfine flour, found also in variants based on bran or barley flour, according to some studies also has healthy properties, reducing the glycemic rate, therefore the consumption of this bread is believed to help lowering the incidence of metabolic diseases.

Alternatively, for those preferring a thinner crusty bread, Carasau is another option.

Born in the neighbour Barbagia region, inland, also known by the Italian name of carta da musica (music paper), it is made with yeast, salt, water and durum wheat flour or barley flour or bran, dark in colour. Different varieties can be found moving South to North  throughout the Island.

Following the entrée culurgionis will delight the finest gourmands.

A variety of fresh pasta made from ravioli dough, stuffed with potatoes, mint and pecorino cheese, with the shape of a wheat head, once cooked, can be served with abundant tomato sauce and a pinch of freshly grated pecorino cheese or dressed with butter and sage. Great for vegetarians too!

A second serving of pasta cannot be missed!

Is maccaronisi de ungras, a variant of the well known malloreddus, is another great dish of the Sardinian tradition. Named after the technique used to prepared them, its typical shape is created moving rotating the thumb on a striped tablet. This pasta should be served with simple tomato and basil sauce or with meat sauce and topped with grated pecorino cheese.

To follow, the king of meat dishes, roasted Porceddu. The recipe came to Sardinia during Spanish dominion establishing, since then, a benchmark on Sardinian culinary culture. 
Porceddu is a delicacy that undergoes specific cooking characteristics, weight, preparation and presentation. Tender and tasty meats, accompanied by a crunchy and fragrant rind, this is the secret of Sardinian suckling pig on the spit!

Keep some space for another treat that sinks into Sardinian history!

Sa Trattalia, born with the aim of recovering the entrails of the lamb or the baby lamb, can be found in different variants.  Made from lamb’s offal such as heart, lungs, liver, spleen, small intestine, peritoneum, slices of pork lard and slices of bread, roasted on a skewer tied with the animal’s intestine and wrapped first in a veil of fat, it is a dish with a strong taste and aroma that should be served hot, resting on large slices of bread with sprigs of myrtle.


For the bottomless, try a bite of Coccoi prena!  Queen of the agro-pastoral tradition, a stuffed focaccia with potatoes, garlic, mint and pecorino cheese, coccoi prena used to accompany the shepherds during their work since ancient times, nowadays has become a delicious finger food. Also suitable for vegetarians.

To end this very fine meal, taste amaretti, biscuits made with marzipan,  ciambelle, shortcrust pastry biscuits, casadinas, cakes stuffed with very fresh cheese and orange peel. Such an incredible variety of sweets Sardinia offers, each village has its own, with different recipes and different shapes or decorations.

Find yourself eating an authentic piece of art!


Accompany this unforgettable lunch in Ogliastra with Cannonau wine, part of the secret recipe of the famous elixir, due to its richness in procyanidins, one of the chemicals that gives red wine its heart-protecting qualities, explaining the exceptional longevity of people in the province.
Produced exclusively from Cannonau grapes from the area, especially Jerzu, ruby red, inebriating, normally aged for two to six years and with an alcohol content never below 12.5 per cent, Cannonau is a smooth, robust wine that goes perfectly with game and the strong flavours of Sardinian cuisine, especially cheeses like Pecorino.

Produced by different vineyards, Pusole vineyard deserves a mention. From four generations the family farms its land, producing wine, corn and olive oil, in addition to breeding a local species of semi-wild pigs called “razza sarda”. They believe in traditional and natural farming methods, with no use of herbicides and pesticides, no irrigation and no use of chemical products. Their Cannonau is a really nice organic option!

If not entirely satisfied, do not miss Sardinian spirits to seal off the meal!

Mirto is the most popular Sardinian after-dinner drink, ubiquitous on the island in fact. This unique liqueur is made from the native flowering Mirto (or Myrtle) plant, that grows freely in Sardinia. Mirto can be found in two different options, red and white.  Mirto rosso (red), the most popular of the two, is a sweet red digestif made from Myrtle berries, while the white Mirto bianco (white) is made from the leaves. 
Myrtle bushes have always been recognised for their restorative and medicinal properties, dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks.

Always served well chilled!

Our sensorial trip has just began.

Where will we be going next? Here is a tip!  North African flavours find an incredible mix with Sardinian ancestral traditions! Now make your guess!

Follow us for the next experience... 

Do not hesitate to contact our Provisions department by mail at provisions@nayacht.com to get recipes of the above listed dishes or to have them catered on board during your cruising along our coasts.

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