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Sardegna

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Vivere la campagna

Wine & dine

Wine & dine
mar 2008 -

 

Various and diverse are the typical products of the Wine & Dine industry that can be savoured whilst touring the area of this Province, in which colours, tastes and fragrances blend together into mixtures simple, yet rich in genuineness and quality.
Harvesting yields products of prime quality, soil and climate conditions of the area notwithstanding.
Typical are the artichoke, wheat and pulse cultivation. Noteworthy is also the cultivation of the olive tree, probably introduced to Sardinia between the VIII and VII century BCE by peoples from the Eastern Mediterranean.
Nowadays the olive oil produced here is among the most sought-after in Italy, a reputation which is increasing also throughout Europe. Amongst the typical products, the various types of bread are worth mentioning, let alone the cheeses (both from goat’s and sheep’s milk) along with the salted and stuffed meats, the latter making for real specialities each with their own unmistakable features tied to the pasture type and to the timing and means of their ageing process.
We wish to end this brief slideshow of typical productions by mentioning the superb wines and exquisite cakes, which complete a downright spectrum of fragrances, colours and shapes that will guide the visitor through a tempting and pleasant journey within the tastes and traditions of this land.

From the herds pasturing on these green meadows the renowned cheeses, most delicious both fresh and aged, are produced. The free-range pasturing of the bovines gives to their meats, beyond their unique and unmistakable taste, some excellent nutritional qualities.

The civraxiu is a seed-corn hard bread typical of the Campidano region.
Once regarded as the bread of the poor, it is nowadays appreciated for its taste: it is often savoured either with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or sliced over typical cork trays onto which succulent pork or lamb roasts will then be laid.

The remarkable productivity of the soil of the Campidano region was already known to the ancient Romans who, aware of the economic importance of this vast and fertile plain, began to grow large expanses with wheat, thus converting the Island into ‘Rome’s granary‘.The dough used for the production of the coccoi is usually leavened using the madre acida, a natural yeast which gives this bread unmistakable fragrance and crispness. The firmness of its dough and the possibility to taste it always crisp even after a few days has made it possible for this bread to be used ever since ancient times not only as a staple, but also in the production of unique shapes tied to special events.
The techniques employed in the decoration of the ceremonial bread are still being handed down from mother to daughter. However, only through hard-earned experience will downright objets d’art be obtained.

Apart from sugar, eggs and flour, three more ingredients are used in the production of the typical cakes of the towns of the Middle Campidano Province, which for this reason characterise these exquisite products: sapa, almonds, and fresh cheese. The amarettos and the pardulas are possibly the main representatives of the cake production of this area.
In the former, an appropriate mixture of sweet and bitter almond flour makes their flavour rich and various; whereas in the latter it is the saffron to season the soft stuffing, which can be prepared with either ricotta or fresh cheese. Certainly, one cannot do without tasting the various dishes made with saba, raisins, hazelnuts and almonds (pan ‘e saba and pabassinas), which are often garnished in white icing such as the delicate pistoccus and pistoccheddus, to be savoured with a nice local liqueur wine.

The olives are employed in several fields of the traditional cuisine. These stone fruits are not only pressed in the mills to produce most valuable oil or stuffed into the dough of delicious types of bread, but they can also be sautéd in brine, vinegar and garlic.

The cultivation of the tomato was already widespread in Latin America in pre-Columbian age.
This plant reached Europe in the XVI century through the Spanish, albeit not for food use but as an ornamental species. Indeed, because of its content of solanine, the tomato was regarded as poisonous to humans!
Only two centuries later were its taste and nutritional qualities started to be appreciated. In the countryside of the Middle Campidano several varieties of this extraordinary product are grown, either in vast fields in the open air or inside greenhouses.

The production of salted and stuffed meats originates from the need to preserve meats for long, at a time when modern refrigerators were only a thing of the future.
By a careful salting process, a generous use of spices and gradual ageing, our forefathers could eat tasty leg ham and sausages even months after slaughtering.
The ageing process of stuffed and salted meats must take place in rooms with carefully-monitored temperature and humidity. Only in this way will the meat drain out optimally the liquids that could damage the quality of the end product.

The cultivations of artichoke are typical of the countryside of the Middle Campidano.
This plant was already eaten by the ancient Egyptians, who had most likely discovered its multiple therapeutic qualities.
Apart from a high percentage in iron, this vegetable contains cynarin, a chemical that plays an important role both in the control of cholesterol levels in the blood and in the stimulation of bile functions.

The cultivation of saffron is operated exclusively at the family level in small lots of land.
Harvesting and selection (strictly by hand) of the colourful pistils are very time-consuming.
However, the monetary cost of the end product is comparatively high, similar to that of gold!
Other than as a spice for cooking, saffron is also employed as a dye for most precious fabrics as well as a seasoning for original liqueurs.

Nowadays the taste and flavour of the dishes made with chick peas, beans, broad beans and lentils is appreciated even at the most renowned restaurants, unlike the past when they served no other purpose than provide the only source of protein for the less-affluent families. Unable to purchase steaks and sausages because of financial constraints, these families would resort to the more economical pulses which, for this reason, were referred to as the meat of the poor.

Beyond cereal and vegetables, vast citrus groves are grown in the countryside of the Middle Campidano, yielding sweet and highly flavoured oranges.
This type of fruit, rich in vitamins A, B and C, is also known as hesperidium. 
The latter term originates from the fact that, according to Greek mythology, hedgerows of orange tress used to adorn the gardens where the tantalising chant of the three beautiful Nymphs of the Dusk, that is the Hesperids, would resonate.

It is not only the renowned French cuisine to enhance the gourmet qualities of the snails: indeed, in various towns of the Middle Campidano the collection and consumption of de is sizzigorrus is a proven tradition.
Typical is also the use in cooking of small game  that, in the countryside and woods of the area, is still diverse both in number of specimens and in species.