Porceddu Dinner at La Ciccia
Porceddu is a typical Sardinian dish- suckling pig roasted whole, with very little more added to it than rosemary and salt. Tradition requires the little pig not to weight more than 8 kg (16 lb), and to be cooked slowly and uniformly- traditionally on a spit.It is a true delicacy really hard to find outside Sardegna, so it was a great pleasure to have La Ciccia close at hand for this amazing dinner!
The Porceddu dinner is becoming more and more of a La Ciccia tradition: for an evening the entire restaurant is reserved for a group of about 50 diners, and the fixed four course menu served family style is washed down with a selection of Sardinian wines. We had some Vermentino to begin with, followed by a hearty Cannonau to break down the fatty piglet- and what a delicious dinner it’s been! We started with affettati- the homemade coppa and salame were paired with Prosciutto from a small producer close to Parma and mortadella from Imola, with the proper pistachios and all! What a treat! We then proceeded to a wonderful dish of malloreddus with an homemade sausage ragu’- fennel hints and the “pepperness” of the sausage made for a thick sauce binding the small malloreddus in a delicious dish.
The highlight of the evening was, obviously, the porceddu. Massimiliano was beaming when he presented the beautiful, integer pig to the room- and while some guests preferred not seeing the “face” of their food, everyone agreed it was a wonderful spectacle! The aesthetic value though was completely trumped by the taste. Ah, the taste!! Some of us (ehm ehm!) could not have enough- every piece was a different texture, a different fat content, a different taste- and all was delicious. Our table secured some additional pancetta, the tender belly fatty pieces, and also a full head! Peter McNee, the wonderful chef at Poggio and also a table companion, got my envious glares when he picked the cheeks clean… but I just couldn’t possibly have any more food at that point! We wrapped dinner with a delicious Truta de Arriscottu, a flourless ricotta and saffron cake.
The beauty of La Ciccia is not only their fabulous food, but also the warmth of the reception, the feeling of being at home, and being greeted on the door as a long time friend by Lorella. La Ciccia is planning some additional theme dinners in teh next few weeks- make sure you snatch a seat at the lamb dinner (planned for end of April).
La Ciccia Sardinian Restaurant
291 30th St at Church,
San Francisco, CA 94131 USA
(415) 550-8114
Filed under: Events, Restaurants, San Francisco, Traditional Foods
I love La Ciccia! I gave them a great review on SF Station a couple of years ago. Good food and nice people. I wish I had been there for the suckling pig too!
I always tell people that porceddu is the best meat, period. I had it in Sardiania many years ago, but I have not forgotten.
Wow-wish I had been there!
Truta de Arriscottu, that sounds like a treat. Any pics?
alas, nothing good enough for publication… sorry!!
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