The specialities Stéphanie could cook with her eyes closed and that you will come across at the Calasetta market, from the villa pizza oven to the tables by the port.
An epicurean at heart, Stéphanie never misses a chance to revisit the classics of Sardinian and Italian cuisine: spaghetti alle vongole, Sardinian-style aubergines, seafood fregola, pardule, and the essential tiramisù. Her welcome booklet, kept at the villa, holds the best addresses for them.
Fregola, a small semolina pasta rolled by hand and then toasted, is the queen of Sulcis tables: it is served with clams, a hint of island saffron and a seafood broth. Pardule are small ricotta or fresh-cheese tartlets scented with lemon and saffron, found at every local pastry shop in spring.
From the market to the pergola
The gourmet day starts at the market and bakeries of Calasetta: still-warm bread, sheep cheeses, the morning catch, almond biscuits. In the evening, it all comes together under the pergola, where the Palermo oven turns dough into pizzas worthy of the port of Carloforte. The story of that oven can be read in our article about the house.
The local wine: Carignano del Sulcis
As for wine, the region has its emblem: Carignano del Sulcis, a deep red born of ungrafted vines growing in the sand, often a century old. The villa has two wine cellars and a selection to discover on site, and the surrounding estates can be visited for tastings, between Calasetta and Sant'Antioco.
One last insider tip: book the tables by the port the same morning for the evening, especially in August, and try the local tuna at least once, a legacy of the tonnare of the Sulcis archipelago.
