Food review: Scotland Meets Sardinia Supperclub, Edinburgh

Say 'Italian food' to most people, and they immediately think of pizza, pasta and comedy pepper grinders.

But it is a vast country and each region is fiercely proud of their own specialities. From the puttanesca sauce of Naples to Milanese Osso Buco, each part of the country has dishes that they protect and champion.

Luisa Dore is a chef based in Edinburgh and she is keen to spread the news of the particular cuisine of her native Sardinia.

Having worked in restaurants for years, she dreamed of starting up her own restaurant, but decided to test the waters by launching the Scotland Meets Sardinia Supperclub. Guests would come round to her home and she would ply them with all manner of Sardinian specialities.

However, current restrictions being what they are, popping round to someone’s house for dinner (no matter how good it might be) isn't on the cards. Luisa has adapted and now offers her Supperclub as a delivery service. The menu changes weekly, ensuring everything is as fresh and as seasonal as possible.

Italian Chef Luisa will cook authentic Sardinian food for you in her own home

I was surprised by the fact that there are options on the menu, having expected a Supperclub to be a chef’s selection – or as Mother would say, ‘you’ll get what you’re given’ – but you can make your selection from a choice of three starters and desserts and four main courses.

Luisa’s care for her food – and that you enjoy it – is obvious from the start. She messages to say that the food has just left her and should be with you soon and also encourages you to message back that you have everything and that it has arrived intact.

I initially thought this a little over the top – but then I saw the delivery. Bags of beautifully boxed items left me feeling like an extra from Emily in Paris wandering back from some exclusive patisserie as I brought everything inside. It was almost a shame to open everything up, it was so delightfully wrapped.

As Mr Turner said, “If this is the care she takes just to send it, I can only imagine the efforts that have gone into cooking it.”

We started with a omplimentary selection of canapes. One each of red pepper, anchovies and capers on crostini. A delightful little boat of prawn cocktail – juicy prawns coated in a light sauce with the clean taste of iceberg lettuce and a hint of, we thought, anise.

Our particular favourite, though, was the Sardinian monkfish salad – an amazing dish that evoked memories of Mediterranean sunshine, simple but, oh so fresh.

Mr Turner had opted for the tagliere salume e formaggi – a selection of antipasti as his starter. This was, frankly, vast and could have easily been shared by two people. That, at least, was my argument when I saw it. He disagreed and said that it was his – and his alone.

There were generous portions of Sardinian smoked ricotta, Sardinian pecorino with homemade strawberry jam, plus Sardinian provola, Sardinian smoked sausage and Sardinian crudo ham. Homemade artichokes and aubergines along with olives with chilli and Sardinian pane carasau with homemade olive oil completed the selection.

Pane carasau is a Sardinian toasted flatbread – think poppadom, but with flavour. This had olive oil and salt and was incredibly more-ish. So much so that Mr Turner not only ate the ones that came with his starter, but the additional portion that was to accompany mine.

It may seem tautologous when I say that it was ‘Sardinian’ ricotta and ‘Sardinian’ provola, but I should stress that Luisa does use the produce from her region and it does taste differently from run-of-the-mill ‘Italian’ cheese or ham.

The envious glances I had thrown at Mr Turner's enormous platter of Sardinian delicacies were now coming back in my direction as my dish of polpo piccante – slow cooked octopus – looked amazing.

This had been my immediate choice of starter as I love octopus. Unfortunately, it's frequently badly cooked and so I am often disappointed when I order it. This, however, was everything that I love about it. The octopus had been cooked slowly, and to perfection – retaining just the right amount of bite without teetering into anything resembling chopped up erasers. The sauce was beautifully piquant with a real kick and it completely rid me of any jealousy I might have had over Mr Turner's platter.

Mr Turner had opted for the lasagne zucca e pancetta – lasagne with butternut squash, Sardinian pancetta and Parmigiano – as his main dish. Words almost failed him when he tasted it. When, finally, he could speak, all he could keep repeating was "amazing, just amazing."

It was a beautifully rich lasagne, with a substantial bechamel sauce, flavoursome pancetta and the butternut squash was soft and creamy. In truth, neither of us are huge fans of squash in general. This dish has changed our minds. On the face of it, peasant cuisine, but this was raised to the level of haute cuisine.

How would my dish of branzino sfogliato – seabass with courgettes, carrots and onions in 'puff pastry' – compare? I needn’t have concerned myself. Although puff pastry is a little bit of a mistranslation – it was a thin pasta parcel containing the seabass. It was served along with a salad of leaves, pea shoots and cherry tomatoes.

It's a small point, but a vital one in any dish that the tomatoes were ripe. Perfectly ripe – not cold, flavourless little bullets – but sweet and juicy. It’s a measure of the attention to her ingredients that each element of each dish is given such thought. The balance of this dish was exceptional, with each flavour distinct, yet complementing one another to truly delight the palate.

For desserts, we had chosen the beeramissu. Who among you *wouldn't* order something called beeramissu? Although we initially had this down as a novelty dessert, it was far from it.

Rather than coffee, the sponge fingers were soaked in Dark Scottish Ale - giving the dish a warm, malty taste rather than the traditional bitter edge that you get with a coffee liqueur – and then had homemade mascarpone and cocoa added. The result was a fabulous combination that was surprisingly light, given the ingredients.

We had also chosen the millefoglie di carasau – the traditional Sardinian pane carasau again, but this time done with honey – layered with ricotta, honey, dark chocolate and walnuts.

It sounds utterly damning when I say that this was perhaps our least favourite dish. But that is not so. It’s simply that, unlike Nigel Tufnel’s amp, our praise for this meal can’t go up to 11.

Where?

Order by website

How much?

£30 per head with additional delivery charge (£3.50)

The Verdict?

10/10