The Sardinian Cookbook by Viktorija Todorovska

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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Sardinia is the lesser known of Italy's two main islands. Sicily, the more well-known island, is very dear to my heart, and I think that made me even a little more excited to check out the similarities and differences between cooking and culture of the two islands.

This was such a great book, both to read and to cook out of! There is a lovely section on the island itself as well as bits and pieces scattered throughout the book. The recipes are a fascinating array. I have oven roasted potatoes for years, and almost didn't make the recipe for "Potatoes with Mediterranean Herbs" for that reason, but I would have really missed out! I've always roasted my potatoes from a raw state, and I wasn't sure about baking the potatoes for at least 45 minutes AFTER boiling them to a fork tender state. Wow! They were amazing!! Like silk or velvet on the inside with a luscious crust on the outside, they became an instant favorite in my house! I'll be honest; the "Endive with Extra Virgin Olive Oil" was a bust. Even my husband who loves all cooked greens couldn't eat them. The uber-simple "Chicken with Capers" more than made up for the endive. Such a few ingredients, and a simple preparation, but what a flavor!! We had company over and they raved over the chicken as well!

This is a great cookbook to dip into the waters of Sardinian cooking. I'm far from finished with this book as there is so many more recipes that make my mouth water just reading them! I did drop my rating to 4 stars due to the amount of hard-to-find ingredients. Items like myrtle (dried and/or crushed leaves and branches), bottarga, fregola and more may be available in some specialty stores, but most will probably have to order them off the internet.

I received a copy of this cookbook from Agate Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.