Burrida a sa Casteddaia

Name: Burrida a sa Casteddaia
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Sarda
Ingredients: 1000 g dogfish (gattuccio); 150 g walnut halves; 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil; 4 cloves Garlic; 120 ml white wine vinegar; 3 pieces Bay leaves; 15 g Fine sea salt; 6 pieces Black peppercorns

Burrida a sa Casteddaia, known in Italian as burrida alla cagliaritana, is Cagliari's classic cold dogfish dish dressed in a rich sauce of walnuts, vinegar and fish liver.

🇮🇹Italy· Sardinia

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 60 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 480 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

1000 g dogfish (gattuccio) — skinned, cleaned, with liver carefully reserved and kept cold
150 g walnut halves — finely ground or pounded in a mortar
100 ml Extra virgin olive oil — good quality Sardinian oil
4 cloves Garlic — peeled and finely minced
120 ml white wine vinegar — good quality
3 pieces Bay leaves — fresh or dried
15 g Fine sea salt — plus extra for poaching water
6 pieces Black peppercorns — whole

Equipment

•Wide saucepan
•Mortar and pestle or food processor
•Slotted spoon
•Shallow ceramic dish
•Fine sieve

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 480 kcal
fat: 34 g
carbs: 4 g
fibre: 2 g
protein: 38 g
calories: 480 kcal

Instructions

1
Cut the skinned dogfish into 4 cm thick steaks, leaving the central cartilage intact.
2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle simmer with two bay leaves and the peppercorns.
3
Add the dogfish steaks and poach gently over low heat for 10 minutes until the flesh turns opaque.
4
Lower the reserved fish liver into the simmering water for the final 3 minutes of cooking.
5
Lift out the fish steaks with a slotted spoon and arrange them in a single layer in a shallow ceramic dish.
6
Lift out the poached liver, transfer it to a board, and mash it finely with a fork.
7
Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium-low heat and gently sizzle the minced garlic for 1 minute.
8
Add the mashed liver, ground walnuts, and the remaining bay leaf to the pan, stirring well for 2 minutes.
9
Pour in the white wine vinegar and simmer over gentle heat for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and turns nutty brown.
10
Season the sauce with fine sea salt, then ladle it evenly over the warm fish steaks until fully submerged.
11
Allow the dish to cool completely to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.

Chef's tips

Never skip the 24-hour resting period, as the fish needs this time to absorb the sharp walnut sauce and firm up. If your fishmonger cannot supply the dogfish liver, you can substitute a small quantity of fresh monkfish liver or enrich the walnut paste with extra olive oil.

Ingredient substitutions

dogfish (gattuccio) → smooth-hound (palombo) or monkfish tails, though dogfish is the true Cagliari classic
white wine vinegar → apple cider vinegar, diluted slightly with water to soften the acidity

Storage

Keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, as the vinegar sauce naturally preserves the fish.

Reheating

Do not reheat; serve cold or bring to cool room temperature 20 minutes before eating.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Serving the dish on the day it is cooked before the flavours have had 24 hours to meld.
•Boiling the fish vigorously, which shreds the delicate dogfish meat instead of keeping neat round steaks.
•Burning the minced garlic or walnut paste before the vinegar is added to the pan.

Serving suggestions

Serve chilled or at cool room temperature as a traditional Cagliari seafood antipasto.Accompany with crisp sheets of Sardinian pane carasau and a glass of chilled Vermentino di Sardegna.