Can’t imagine visiting a new country without trying the food? Me neither! Food is always a priority and here is what we tried and you should as well.
With Alghero being a port city of course any kind of seafood is great to try, especially caught in the Gulf of Alghero, where also the most delicious lobster in the world can be caught (and you can get some at the restaurants).
Traditional food to try
Don’t go home without trying out a few of these. Getting to know a new culture is always best done via food and each country, each city has something to offer.
Did you know Malloredus is a pasta shape that originated in Sardinia?
Malloreddus is a gnocchi-shaped pasta and due to their dumpling-like shape, they are also called gnocchetti Sardi, meaning little Sardinian gnocchi.
You will find this pasta shape in all the shops.
Each time we find something new and interesting that we do not have at home, or at least it’s not usual.
Like the Insalata di Mare, which is a salad, or rather seafood in oil, but it tasted very good.
An impressive selection of fresh seafood can be found in random supermarkets and one feels like at an actual fish market with all the smells.
When in a new city we check out the local grocery to see what is different compared to home.
Important to note, in Alghero as in the rest of the island and Italy they have an afternoon siesta, it can happen that the shop you choose to go to will be closed as it happened to us (Coop was closed, but EuroSpin next to the Giardini La Lepanto – Cecchini Park is open even during siesta time).
In general, in each shop, we checked out the seafood selection was amazing. It all looked fresh and smelled fresh as well, it’s a shame we didn’t have time to cook more, but will be prepared next time we come to Alghero.
If you are a seafood lover, you will find a lot to choose from and of course, almost all restaurants serve seafood, so don’t worry you will have to cook.
With more sheep on the island than people, you can imagine cheese is not an issue to find and it’s delicious. Many different types can be found at the supermarket (but they come in big family packages), and you can order cheese plates at the restaurants.
At the seaside, you usually try out some of the fish, but did you know the best lobsters are caught in the Mediterranean sea, where the water is saltier than the oceans – but, according to experts, the most delicious lobsters live right here, in the Gulf of Alghero, between Stintino and Bosa.
The fishing takes place from April to August and to get a lobster in Alghero means getting the best in the whole world.
Sound intriguing, but don’t forget when you order they go by weight, so the price you see on the menu will be higher as it depends on their weight. We didn’t manage to have one and left it for our next visit.
Another thing we find were the different kinds of soft sweets, for example also from Kinder we do not have at home (where the majority is chocolate).
You will find everywhere as well, the Pergamenta di Panne, something like paper bread. The stores are full of those and they are also served at the restaurants as part of coperto (cover charge, around 2-3 € depending on where you go).
Among our recommendations as a quick snack before dinner, is one of their “mini cheesecakes.”
They are made of soft cheese with citrus and are simply delicious.
You can find them in any of the small bakeries, but also in shops behind the bakery counter. We had to ask for what we wanted (well it was more pointing at what we wanted), but it’s delicious and fresh.
Pappasini
Traditional Sardinian cookies are usually filled with almonds and raisins and a bit of orange. They are a little bit harder and come glazed also without the sugar coating. With the sugar coating it’s very sweet, so ich you are not so much into sweet things, get one without.
Perfect with coffee and you can get them everywhere, they are even served as deserts in some restaurants.
It tastes like a cookie, nothing extra, but worth trying out.
Sebadas
Sebadas are a crunchy, crispy deeply fried pastry filled with cheese and dipped in honey and if you have to choose to try out one thing only, then try Sebadas.
Unfiltered Ichnusa Beer
Birra Ichnusa, or simply Ichnusa is an unfiltered blonde lager par excellence produced by Sardinian master brewers.
A beer that contains the notes of Sardinia: light barley malt and caramel barley malt that create a blend that gives the unfiltered beer a round taste with notes of yellow fruit, apricot, and bread crust.
It is very refreshing, especially on hot sunny days.
We bought ours at Coop, and it surprised us that they didn’t have it in EuroSpin and almost nowhere as draft beer. (Although they have a few local breweries and draft beers in the city you can sit down and taste).
Gelato
Italy without ice cream is unimaginable and thankfully Alghero is also full of ice cream shops. They even have a lot where you can get vegan or lactose-free gelato.
Italy is known for its amazing food and Sardinia is no exception. There is pizza, pasta, and Catalan-style paella that are among other recommendations.
Cook pasta
As we lived in an Airbnb we also decided to cook ourselves something and what better to do than pasta.
Don’t panic, we had ravioli, but didn’t make them from scratch. We actually wanted to try the ones selling in supermarkets that you only have to cook at home. Buying them back home, they don’t taste very good, thus we tried buying pasta in Italy.
The “cooking” part is the same as usual, boiling water and putting them in for a few minutes and the magic is ready. We also bought a tomato sauce and our expectations were low, but, it was delicious. Way better than what we buy back home.
If you have the opportunity, try it yourself.
There is even more delicious food to try in Sardinia, but this is what we managed to taste and left the rest for next time.
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