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Where to eat Burrida alla casteddaia in Cagliari

Poached dogfish dressed in a cold sauce of its own liver pounded with walnuts, garlic and vinegar, then left a day or two to marinate. Casteddu is Cagliari in Sardinian, and this is the city's own plate.

The story of Burrida alla casteddaia

Burrida belongs to Cagliari specifically, which is why it carries the casteddaia name after Casteddu, the Sardinian name for the city. It is a preserving dish: gattuccio di mare, the small spotted dogfish, is poached, skinned and sliced, then covered in a sauce built from the fish's own liver crushed with walnuts, garlic, vinegar and oil. The acid and the fat keep it for several days, which mattered in a port where the catch arrived all at once. It is always eaten cold, as an antipasto, and it improves on the second day. Fewer kitchens make it now because the preparation is slow and the fish is less common than it was, so it is worth asking before you book rather than assuming it is on.

How to make Burrida alla casteddaia

Serves: Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1kg dogfish (gattuccio), cleaned, with its liver reserved
  • 100g shelled walnuts
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 100ml white wine vinegar
  • 150ml olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Poach the fish in salted water with the bay leaf for 15 minutes, then lift it out and let it cool.
  2. Poach the liver separately for 5 minutes in the same water, then drain it.
  3. Skin the fish, take the flesh off the central cartilage and cut it into thick slices.
  4. Pound the walnuts, garlic and poached liver to a paste in a mortar, then work in the vinegar and the oil a little at a time until you have a loose, creamy sauce.
  5. Layer the fish and the sauce in a deep dish, making sure every slice is covered, and season.
  6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Bring it back to cool room temperature before serving with bread.

Editor tip. If dogfish is unavailable, use monkfish tail and add an extra spoon of vinegar, since the liver sauce loses some of its edge.

The editor picks for Burrida alla casteddaia in Cagliari are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Cagliari signature-dishes index or the Cagliari food guide.