Mirto - Sardinia's Favorite Liqueur

There's a shameful little secret all travelers have in common. We've all done it, every single one of us, and I'm sure you're no exception.

Red Mirto, Sardinia's favorite tipple

I'm talking about that dusty stash of bottles hidden away at the back of a cupboard somewhere in your kitchen or dining room. The barely tasted bottle of limoncello brought back from that great holiday in Sicily all those years ago. That fabulous aged tequila that you lugged back from Mexico, determined to educate your friends and family about what the "real thing" tastes like. The unopened bottle of sake a well-meaning relative gave you after a trip to Japan or the evil-looking Genepi from a ski trip to the Alps...

We've all got them, and we all forget about them. Until the end of that fabulous dinner party that is when, after a few too many glasses of wine, some misguided impulse compels you to delve around in the back of that cupboard, blow the dust off a couple of bottles and force a few of glasses on your bemused guests. Invariably, as you fumble for the aspirin the next morning, you swear to clear that cupboard out once and for all and tip the lot down the sink... but you never quite get round to it.

But why? Why, when we're normally so careful with the pennies do we find ourselves with hundreds of pounds worth of perfectly good alcohol that we never touch?

Personally, I think that liqueurs are so inextricably linked to the cultures and environments that produced them that they're never quite the same tasted out of context.

Myrtle berries on the bush, ready to be made into mirto

Take Sardinian mirto for example. It's made from the berries and/or leaves of the myrtle bush (Myrtus Communis) which flourishes in Sardinia's poor soil, growing up to six metres tall. It can be found everywhere on the island, forming part of the wild "macchia mediterranea" that covers just about every inch of undeveloped or unfarmed land.

The last 20 years have seen programmes started to selectively breed some of the 40 wild varieties of myrtle in order to improve and standardise yields, specifically with the production of mirto in mind, but the tipple's origins are truly ancient. Both the red and less common white varieties of the liqueur have been produced here for hundreds of years.

Mirto rosso (red mirto) is made from the crushed berries whilst mirto bianco (white mirto) is made from the leaves. The processes for making both are similar, seeing the berry or leaf pulp steeped in alcohol (usually grape spirit) for around two months. The resulting liquid is then filtered, mixed with sugar syrup and bottled at 30-35% alcohol.

I can't count the number of times I've sat in the departure lounge at Cagliari airport watching departing tourists in the gift shops. Already nostalgic for long dinners under lemon trees, perfectly cooked roast suckling pig and the scent of citronella candles drifting in the warm dusk air, they pick up a bottle of this fabulous liqueur as a reminder, hoping to recapture the magic of those perfect meals back home. It never has quite the same effect though when tasted in the dining room somewhere in London, and we already know it'll end up gathering dust along with those other sad relics of holidays past.

No! Mirto is too good a tipple to waste, so we've come up with a couple of recipes guaranteed to transport you back (gastronomically speaking) to Sardinia and conjure up a little of that mirto magic on a rainy day.

Sardinian Tiramisú

Ingredients:

• 500g ricotta
• 250g icing sugar
• 150ml white mirto
• 400ml water
• 40 ladyfinger biscuits
• A little cocoa powder

In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta together with the sugar
When thoroughly blended, whisk in three dessert spoons of mirto to get a smooth, creamy mix (if needed, blend in a few drops of milk)
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining mirto and the water
Dip the ladyfingers in the water and mirto mix, allowing them to soak up the liquid without getting too soggy
Cover the base of  a high-sided serving platter with a tin layer of ricotta, then lay some of the ladyfingers on top.
Carry on alternating layers of ladyfingers with ricotta mixture until both have been used up (finish up with a layer of the ricotta)
Refrigerate for at least two hours, dust with a layer of cocoa and serve

Mirto Martini

Ingredients:

• 4 parts orange vodka
• 3 parts mirto
• 3 parts fresh lime juice
• 2 parts Cointreau
• 1 part simple sugar syrup

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all the ingredients and shake well
Strain into a chilled martini glass and, if desired garnish with a few fresh blueberries

We'd love to hear what you think of these recipes, and let us know if you have any other tried and tested ways of using up leftover mirto!

www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk

The Festival of Sant'Efisio in Sardinia

The Festival of Sant'Efisio in Pula

The festival of Sant'Efisio, celebrated in early May every year is one of the most important dates in the Sardinian calendar. Visitors to the island have long loved the excuse to photograph the locals dressed in the stunning traditional costumes, hear Sardinian folk music and marvel at the bright colors, flower-strewn streets and festive atmosphere, but few really understand the origins of the festival.

Traditional dress at the Sagra di Sant'Efisio

 Sant'Efisio is the patron saint of Sardinia. Born during the 3rd century AD in Asia Minor to a pagan mother and Christian father, he was enrolled in the Roman army to fight Christians under Dioclesian. During the long journey to Europe however, he underwent an epiphany and converted to Christianity himself. According to the legend, one night he was visited by a vision of a shining cross appearing amongst the clouds accompanied by a voice warning him not to join in the persecution of Christians.

On revealing his conversion to Dioclesian, he was accused of being a traitor to the Roman empire and subsequently imprisoned, tortured and finally martyred on the beach at Nora on the 15th of January 303AD.

A church was built in his honor in the eleventh century, and still stands to this day. It's a stunning location, right on the beach at Nora, and legend claims that it is on the exact spot on which Efisio was decapitated. In Cagliari, Sardinia's capital city, there are both a church and a crypt bearing his name. According to legend, the crypt is where Efisio was imprisoned before being transported to Nora to be put to death. It's open to the public now, and guides will point out the column to which he was supposedly shackled. There's evidence that the site has been used for worship since the 5th century, although recent history has seen it used as both an air-raid shelter and rubbish dump.

Horsemen escorting the saint's image to Nora

The Chiesa di Sant'Efisio in Cagliari was built in the 18th century and is home to the statue of his likeness. Visitors will notice the cannonballs embedded in the back wall, a legacy from the French attack on Cagliari in 1793. The Sardinians were said to have had some help from the saint himself in winning that particular battle.
In 1655, Sant'Efisio was said to have saved Cagliari from a particularly violent outbreak of the plague, which lead to the decision to honor him by giving him his own festival (the Sagra di Sant'Efisio) every May.

Sardinians of all ages take part

On the 1st of May, his statue is dressed in all his finery and loaded onto a golden carriage, pulled by bulls. He is then taken on the long pilgrimage from Cagliari to Nora, escorted by horsemen, locals in vibrant traditional costumes, musicians and pilgrims (some barefoot). The procession arrives in Pula on the 2nd of May, and moves onto Nora that afternoon. The long return journey begins on the 4th of May, and the saint and his escorts will have traveled a total of 80km by the time he is safely returned to his church in the city.

Although the festival has been celebrated in Sardinia for hundreds of years, Sant'Efisio's remains have, until recently been kept in Pisa. The 12th of May 2011 finally saw their return to Cagliari

You can see more images of the 2012 Sagra di Sant'Efisio by clicking here

Or contact us at www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk for more information or to arrange a visit to Sardinia for the festivities next year