eating sardinian along the canal

unfortunately, a waterfront restaurant along regent's canal in london is as close to sardinia as i am going to get this summer. with the sun making a cameo appearance, we cycled along the water to sardo canale for a lazy afternoon meal of seafood pasta and bright, chilled wine.

Calamari Ripieni - Grilled baby squid filled with a mixture of calamari meat and aromatic herbs

this was like a baby squid sausage stuffed with a pungent filling and bathed in a tomato sauce best sopped up with bread. the squid didn't seem grilled long enough, though.

Spaghetti alla bottarga - One of the most popular Sardinian pasta dishes consisting of a sauce made with dried mullet roe and extra virgin olive oil

when i go home to my mother's kitchen, one of my consistent requests is for "al-chigae," a spicy stew made from roe. i love roe in all its diverse culinary and cultural forms - korean, japanese, danish.

this italian mthod of using roe is so simple and subtle - just roe and high-quality olive oil - but so delicious.

Linguine al granchio - A Sardo favourite with a sauce made of fresh crab meat, extra virgin olive oil, parsley and fresh chillies

i couldn't reisist ordering this crab pasta. the chunks of crabmeat were succulent, and while i didn't detect much chili - some might say this is because the Queen of Spice (as michael called me recently) has burned her taste buds from indulging in too much habanero sauce - i appreciated the thick slices of garlic. mmmmmm.