Sample text from Under the Olive Tree. Pietra Nieda - Maestro of the Grill.

Traditional Sardegnan food, at least in the Gallura region in the north-east of the island, is not what we might expect of an island because it is based on meat dishes rather than fish. Grazing sheep was the mainstay of the local farming economy and a lot of Sardegnans worked as shepherds. From the sheep came a fairly coarse wool, meat and, of course, milk to make the famous pecorino - the sheep’s milk cheese of the district - and a sheep’s milk ricotta cheese.

Also around the farmstead would be some pigs and the hillsides were full of wild boar. So the grilling of meat, lamb or pork is at the heart of Sardegnans’ traditional cooking - and they do it very well indeed. To experience the artistry of Sardegnan meat cooking, our favorite restaurant is Pietra Nieda (in Sardegnan dialect this means Black Rock). Along with the cooking, the other welcoming characteristic of the restaurant is a large loggia room, open to the side with a view of the hills and the distant sea.

At the far end of the room is a long low masonry bench, a chimney and a wide open cooking fire well equipped with spits, racks and skewers. This is the domain of the proprietor, Giovanni...