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Seadas
Fried cheese pastries with honey
Seadas: Sardinia's fried cheese pastries drizzled with honey
ItalianSeadas (or sebadas) are Sardinia's festive dessert: large discs of thin pastry wrapped around fresh, tangy cheese and lemon zest, fried until blistered and golden, then drizzled with warm honey, ideally the bitter strawberry-tree honey of the island's hills. The cheese melts into soft, stretchy strings, so they are a sweet-salty, crisp-gooey surprise. Shepherd families once made them at the end of a festa or for Carnival; today every Sardinian restaurant offers them. The pastry is traditionally made with lard, and here it is butter. Chef's tip: melt the cheese into discs first, so it sets flat and is easy to seal inside the pastry.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the filling
- 12 ½ oz fresh young pecorino or a mild melting cheesegrated; traditional cheese is usually made with animal rennet, so choose one with vegetarian rennet (e.g. a young cow's or sheep's milk cheese labelled vegetarian)
- 1 tbsp lemon zestfinely grated, from 1–2 lemons
- 2 tbsp water
For the pastry
- 9 oz semola rimacinata (fine durum wheat semolina)plus extra for rolling
- 1 oz soft butterreplaces the traditional lard
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 pinch salt
To fry and serve
- 4 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oil
- 5 ½ oz honeystrawberry-tree honey if you can find it
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put 12 ½ oz fresh young pecorino or a mild melting cheese, 1 tbsp lemon zest and 2 tbsp water in a pan over a low heat and stir for 3–4 minutes, until the cheese just melts into a soft, stringy mass. Do not let it boil.
4 minStep 2: Spoon the cheese into 8 mounds on a sheet of baking paper and flatten each into a disc about 8 cm across and 1 cm thick. Leave to cool and firm up for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile mix 9 oz semola rimacinata (fine durum wheat semolina) and 1 pinch salt, rub in 1 oz soft butter, then add ½ cup warm water and knead for 8 minutes into a smooth, firm, silky dough. Wrap and rest for 15 minutes.
8 minStep 4: Roll the dough very thinly, about 1.5 mm, and cut out 16 rounds of 11–12 cm.
Step 5: Set a cheese disc in the middle of one round, cover with a second round and press the dough down tightly around the cheese with your fingers, pushing out every bit of air. Common mistake: trapping air bubbles around the filling; they swell in the hot oil and split the pastry open.
Step 6: Seal the edges firmly and trim with a fluted pastry wheel, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Repeat with the rest.
Step 7: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry the seadas one or two at a time for 2–3 minutes per side, until puffed, blistered and golden.
6 minStep 8: Drain briefly on kitchen paper. Warm 5 ½ oz honey and pour it over the seadas. Serve hot, while the cheese is still molten.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 49 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does seadas take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of soft butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of honey?
- Maple syrup or golden syrup, same amount.
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