Sardinia
Sardinia's most iconic dolce — large fried pastry rounds filled with fresh sheep's cheese (pecorino fresco or formaggio de fitta) and lemon zest, fried in lard until golden and puffed, then drizzled with bitter honey from the corbezzolo (strawberry tree) or acacia honey. The cheese inside melts during frying and becomes creamy and slightly acid — the combination of the fried pastry, melted cheese and bitter honey is one of the great flavour combinations in Italian cooking.
Crisp, buttery pastry giving way to hot, creamy, acidic sheep's cheese; bitter honey drizzled over adds complexity that sweet honey cannot — one of Italy's most distinctive sweet preparations
{"The pastry must be made with semolina flour and lard — durum semolina gives rigidity for rolling; lard gives the characteristic crispness after frying","Use fresh, not aged, sheep's cheese — it must be slightly acid and melt cleanly; aged cheese becomes rubbery when heated","Cut the cheese into small pieces and mix with lemon zest before filling — the lemon zest is essential, not optional","Fry in deep lard (or olive oil) at 175°C — temperature control is critical; too low makes them greasy, too high burns the pastry before the cheese melts","Drizzle the honey after frying while the seadas are still hot — the heat helps the honey flow into all the surface texture"}
{"Seal the edges of the seadas with a fork and then crimp again firmly — any breach allows the cheese to leak in the oil","Rest the formed seadas in the fridge for 20 minutes before frying — the cold cheese melts more evenly during frying","Corbezzolo honey (miele amaro) has an extraordinary bitter finish — its bitterness makes the sweet fried pastry and cheese taste more complex"}
{"Aged cheese that becomes stringy and tough rather than creamy — only fresh cheese achieves the correct texture","Too thick a pastry — seadas should be almost flat when finished; thick pastry prevents the cheese from melting fully","Sweet honey — the traditional pairing is bitter corbezzolo honey; sweet honey makes the dish cloying"}
La Cucina della Sardegna — Paste, Pani e Secondi