Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey: The Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber

  • Sardinian music bread (Pane carasau)

    from Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey: The Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Appetizers / starters; Italian
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; durum wheat flour; active dry yeast
    • Accompaniments: Eel in tomato sauce
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Notes about this book

  • BessieE on November 29, 2013

    I made the Pan-seared scallops with fregula and roasted vegetables - it was really good, I'll make it again. Nice for an entree and the recipe could be varied. I'll use fregula in other dishes as well it's yummy.

  • ktripson on September 02, 2012

    Jeremiah Tower recommended this book as one of the ten he would keep when he got rid of all his books. I bought it based on that. I've like everything I've made from it--quite straightforward in seasoning and preparation. I think what I like about it is the island nation he came from has been conquered by everyone who passed by it off the coast of Tunisia, but belongs to Italy these days. So it's a Mediterranean fusion food which is perhaps more flavorful than traditional Italian cuisine. The chef was a protegee of Tower's and now has two restaurants of his own in TX. I sent my sister to the restaurant near her and she thought it was quite good although expensive.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Shrimp with orange and chicory (Cambaros kin frutta)

    • ktripson on September 02, 2012

      I've made this ten times and everyone swoons over it as written. They guy is really good.

  • Soup of fregula with baby clams (Fregula kin arsellas)

    • JimCampbell on May 21, 2025

      A 3.5 out of 5. Good flavor. A nice change for a soup. The fregula has a nice chewy texture to it. The saffron give it the Mediterranean flair. There were some minor bitter notes we think was from the clam liquid. The clams were larger, and we think older, then we would have liked. Next time we will use all fish stock. We also used canned Italian imported San Marzano tomatoes since the Roma tomatoes in the store were horribly under-ripe. The fish stock, a separate recipe in the book, was very good. We would make both again.

  • Fish stock (Brou de piske)

    • JimCampbell on May 21, 2025

      A 4.0 out of 5. A very good fish stock. The use of the fennel bulb, white onion, and leeks, add a nice note to the stock. A natural sweetness. We used what the butcher called halibut bones. It was the collar. Nice mild flavor. We would make the fish stock again, aside from the soup recipe which called for it. In fact tonight will be a noodle bowl with the fish stock and some of the fish pieces from the collar.

  • Malloreddus with pork and pancetta (Mallareddus kin purpuzza)

    • ktripson on September 02, 2012

      Made it twice and it was very well received by me and the crew.

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Reviews about this book

  • John Mariani

    Best of 2007 - brings into focus the variety and history of the food & wine culture of this still wild and beautiful island...little fuss is made about cooking except to make it with love and respect.

    Full review

  • Los Angeles Times

    ...the only one I’ve found that deals exclusively with the cooking of Italy’s second-largest island, and discovered more uses for bottarga in its pages. That alone is worth the price of [the book].

    Full review

  • Food & Travel Magazine

    Homely recipes and memories combine in this informative and beautifully illustrated account of one chef’s early years spent in rural Sardinia.

    Full review

  • The Austin Chronicle

    After feasting from Farris' [book], any thought of conventional Italian food flies out the window, and you're left with a true taste of Sardinia's fiercely independent culture and magical cuisine.

    Full review

  • Cooking Light

    Sardinia is one of the last frontiers for Italian cooking in America...Let this book be your delicious introduction. Be sure to check out the Sardinian translations of the recipe titles—a nice touch.

    Full review
  • ISBN 10 0847829928
  • ISBN 13 9780847829927
  • Published Oct 26 2007
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 272
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Rizzoli International Publications
  • Imprint Rizzoli International Publications

Publishers Text

Sardinia now rivals its northern neighbor Provence as a vacation destination. The coastline lures visitors, but it is the food that will make you linger. Chef Efisio Farris is poised to become the next great ambassador of Italian regional cuisine. To promote the cooking of his native Sardinia, he has appeared on the Food Network, given demonstrations at food festivals across the country, and even launched his own company that imports Sardinian specialties for his restaurants and for retail. It is Mediterranean cooking at its purest, making liberal use of olive oil, fish, and fresh vegetables. But it's also distinguished by indigenous ingredients that are becoming hot trends in America: pecorino, flatbread, fava beans, fregula, and bottarga. Farris has pulled together more than one hundred recipes - many of them family secrets. Among them are Watermelon Salad with Arugula and Ricotta Salata; Pannacotta with Bitter Honey; and Bruschetta with Sausage and Pecorino Sardo. More than 150 breathtaking images take you on a tour of the countryside - from the terraced olive groves to the riverbanks full of wild asparagus. In sidebars, the author relates charming anecdotes and Sardinian history. Readers will come away not just with a taste for the island's flavors but also a sense of Sardinia's magical beauty and culture.