Panada di Agnello — Sardinian Lamb and Pea Pie

Assemini, Cagliari province, Sardinia. The panada of Assemini is considered the most traditional form; the technique of raw assembly and slow baking in a sealed pie case is documented from medieval Sardinia. The Spanish-Sardinian connection (Aragon ruled Sardinia) likely influenced the pie form.

Panada (from the Sard 'panada') is the great Sardinian enclosed pie, most traditionally from Assemini (Cagliari province) and distinguished from the impanada by its size (larger, family-format) and its specific filling of raw lamb or eel layered with dried peas (piselli secchi, soaked overnight), onion, tomatoes, and saffron, all raw when they go into the raw pastry case. The entire pie is assembled raw — filling ingredients go in uncooked — and the long baking (1.5-2 hours) cooks everything simultaneously inside the sealed pastry. The pastry case is traditionally lard-enriched semolina dough.

Opening a panada at the table releases a burst of steam perfumed with lamb and saffron — inside, the lamb pieces are yielding and their juices have cooked the dried peas to a dense, flavourful softness. The pastry crust is crisp on the outside, slightly softer within from the steam. Each serving is a complete combination of protein, legume, and pastry.