Merca soup: a traditional dish from the cuisine of centenarians
The traditional cuisine of Nuorese, an area of Sardinia that has been inhabited by shepherd populations for centuries, reflects the lives of people who have always lived in close contact with animals and nature. For this reason, the local diet is based mainly on milk and cheese, with simple but richly flavored ingredients. Among the most representative dishes of the area is the merca soup, a preparation that features fresh salted sheep’s milk cheese, called merca.
La merca, which is dried and pickled, is a cheese that is used in many typical dishes of Nuoro cuisine, but it finds its best expression in this soup, a poor but richly flavored dish. Perfect for cooler spring days and summer evenings, merca soup is characterized by its strong flavor and unique aroma, making it irresistible even when prepared with just a few ingredients.
Ingredients for 4 people
- 200 g of quagliato (merca, caxagedu salato, frue salata)
- 250 g of cabbage (preferably yellow)
- 250 g of potatoes
- Fregolina sarda (Sardinian small-ball pasta)
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
- A small beat of lard
- Fresh basil
Preparation:
- Prepare the vegetables: Start by boiling the diced potatoes and finely chopped cabbage in a pot with plenty of water. When the water begins to boil, add the fresh tomatoes, which should be blanched briefly. After a few minutes, remove them, peel and mash them with a fork before returning them to the pot along with a few basil leaves.
- Prepare the merca: One hour before cooking, deseed the cheese merca, letting it soak in cold water to remove excess salt. After mashing it with a fork, set it aside.
- Soffritto: In a separate pan, sauté the chopped lard with extra virgin olive oil until the lard becomes crispy and golden. This will add a rich and intense flavor to the soup.
- Soup cooking: When the potatoes and cabbage are almost cooked, add the Sardinian fregolina and the sautéed lard. Continue cooking until the pasta is well cooked, adding a little hot water if necessary if the soup gets too dry.
- Finish: With the heat off, add the cheese merca in the saucepan and stir well until it is completely melted. The cheese should blend with the rest of the ingredients, creating a thick, flavorful cream.
- Rest and service: Let the soup rest for about 20 minutes before serving so that the flavors blend best. Serve it hot, perhaps with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a few leaves of fresh basil.
A simple dish, but rich in tradition
Merca soup is a dish that tells the story of inland Sardinia, where cooking comes from the land and its simplest products, but capable of offering an authentic and rich taste. Despite its apparent simplicity, this dish is capable of surprising with its depth of flavors, from the salty taste of merca cheese to the delicacy of potatoes and cabbage, with the aromatic touch of basil and sautéed lard. It is a preparation that, despite being a poor dish, is able to express all the goodness of Sardinian tradition.