Panada

Panada is a traditional Sardinian dish, a kind of closed soup or casserole, generally prepared with bread dough, meat (lamb, fish or eel according to local variants), potatoes, and herbs. The most common version is with lamb, and I will provide this version. However, keep in mind that every family and every area may have its own variants.

Ingredients

• 500 g bread dough (you can buy the ready-made dough directly or prepare it with flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt)
• 800 g lamb meat (cut into small pieces)
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• A few mint leaves
• Meat broth as needed
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper as needed

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the bread dough, if you haven’t bought it ready-made. Knead flour, water, yeast and salt until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough, then let it rise until it doubles in volume.
2. Clean and cut the lamb into pieces that are not too large, then season it with salt and pepper.
3. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes.
4. Finely chop the onion and garlic and sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Add the lamb pieces to the sauté and let the meat brown on all sides.
6. Add the potatoes and aromatic herbs (rosemary and mint), then cover with meat broth and let cook until the potatoes start to become tender.
7. Meanwhile, roll out the bread dough into an even layer about half a centimeter thick.
8. Grease a baking dish suitable for oven cooking and line it with part of the bread dough.
9. Pour the lamb with the potatoes and their sauce inside, then cover everything with another layer of bread dough, sealing the edges to close the panada.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about an hour or until the crust becomes golden and crispy.
11. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Panada can be customized with different types of meats or even fish, and aromatic herbs according to personal taste and local tradition. It is a very flavorful dish that incorporates the rustic and genuine flavors of the Sardinian countryside.