Corsicans take their food and drink very seriously, it is quite common for locals to take a leisurely three-course lunch accompanied by a few glasses of Corsican wine. This also means that standards in restaurants are generally high.
Meat Dishes
Wild boar is possibly the island's most celebrated dish - look out for sanglier on the menu. Meat dishes may be served with pasta or polenta.
- Veau aux olives - veal served with local olives
- Tianu - slow-cooked game stew
- Cabri de lait - kid
- Bécasse - roast woodcock
- Pédrix - partridge
Seafood
On the coast you will find a good selection of fish and seafood although due to reduced fish stocks in the Mediterranean, prices are now fairly high. Look out for red mullet (rouget), sea bream (loup de mer) and crayfish (langoustine). Oysters (huitres) are particularly recommended in the east and trout caught in the unpolluted rivers is a good alternative to meat inland.
Dairy
Much of the mountain cooking is based around the locally produced dairy products and in particular the ewe's cheese brocciu which is similar to goat's cheese. Brousse is a cow's milk alternative which is often available in the summer but is not nearly as good.
Charcuterie
Cured meats are very popular and a wide selection are usually available:
- Prisutu - smoked ham
- Figatellu/fitonu - liver sausage
- Salamu - salami-style sausage
- Valetta - cheek
- Boudin - black pudding
- Fromage de tête - "head cheese" made from seasoned pigs' brains
Desserts
Most traditional Corsican desserts are milk or egg based:
- Fiadone - soft cheese tart which is soaked in spirit and flambéed
- Beignets - chestnut flour doughnuts, sometimes stuffed with cheese
Corsican Wine & Beers
Corsica produces several very good wines, which are hardly known outside the island. The producers are scattered and tend to be highly individual - Corsican, in other words. The grape harvest is still often cut by hand, and visiting a vineyard for an afternoon is a pleasant expedition.
James Boswell was an aficionado, writing in his Tour of Corsica published in 1782: "The flavours of wines differ all over the island. It is a true marvel that such a slight difference in soil and exposure generates such considerable diversity." Some wines are made with traditional Corsican varieties of grape, such as the delicious white Vermentino, Nielluccio, the basis of the esteemed Patrimonio red, and several excellent rosé wines. As a quick guide, wines from Patrimonio, Ajaccio and from near Sartène are outstanding, and the Domaine Vico wines are notable.
Also worth tasting are the local fortified wines, such as Muscat made from the delicious pale Muscat grape, or the darker, sweetish herb-rich Cap Corse. Both can be drunk as apéritifs - or at any time. Home-produced, dusky coloured, apéritif-strength drinks, with herbs such as myrtle and basil, can be found for sale on some roadside stalls.
Producers from across the island travel to the Corsican Wine Festival in Luri, Cap Corse, in mid July each year to show off their award-winning wines.
Dining Out
For those wishing to dine out, there are some excellent restaurants and numerous informal cafés serving pizzas, mixed salads or delicious stewed mussels. Fish, as is the case everywhere in the Mediterranean today, is fresh but expensive. Vegetarians can usually find pastas, pizzas, omelettes and vegetable dishes. In Corsica, as anywhere in the Mediterranean, café life is vibrant and everyone takes part - children are very much welcomed. Most restaurants have high chairs available and some will offer a children's menu although eating out will be later than your children may eat at home with service from 7pm. We provide a list of local restaurants in our Information Books which are available at each of our properties.
