A feast for the eyes at Pula Market

Kathryn from Sardinian Places shares her photos and enjoys the colour, aromas and flavours of Pula Market.

Every Tuesday, just outside the charming town of Pula in Southern Sardinia, farmers, cheese makers, honey producers and their ilk, gather for the weekly market, their stalls overflowing with succulent fruits, plump vegetables and tasty treats typical of Sardinia. You’ll find markets like this all over the island and they are the perfect place to pick up all you might need for a delicious picnic, or perhaps for fresh ingredients if you fancy turning your hand to some Sardinian cooking?

There’s a wonderful array of fruit and vegetables available, the quality of which contributes to the excellence of Sardinian gastronomy.

Sardinia is blessed with the perfect, pollution-free climate for the production of honey, exploiting the diversity of the island's herbs and flowers to provide many variations of this liquid gold. I found Sardinian honey particularly delicious drizzled over a well-matured Sardinian hard cheese such as the sheep’s milk cheese, Pecorino Sardo, which is richer and less salty than the better known, Pecorino Romano.

The Sardinian flat bread, Pane Carasau, pictured below, is a crisp, cracker-like bread. It lasts for several months and was originally the staple diet of shepherds who would remain in the fields with their sheep for extended periods of time.

And to finish this feast, try one (or two) of Sardinia’s liqueurs and myrtles that are drunk after a meal as a digestivo, such as this limoncino, made from an infusion of lemon peel to produce an aromatic, fiesty liqueur.

Southern Sardinia Markets (8am to 12.30pm)

Pula: Tuesdays Situated in car park on the outskirts of Pula, Via 25 Aprile
Sarroch:  Wednesdays Located in a car park next to the football ground, Via Mare
Quartu Sant’Elena: Wednesdays Via Cristofero Colombo – probably the largest open market on the island
Capoterra: Thursdays A very large open air market but parking can be a problem
Villasimius: Saturdays Situated in a car park next to the Carabinieri (police) station

Tempted by the glorious food of Sardinia? Check out our Holiday Ideas page for some more Sardinia inspiration.