Sardinia — originating in the Barbagia and pastoral highlands as a festive cheese pastry. The fresh sour sheep's milk cheese of the Sardinian shepherd's table and the wild honey of the macchia (scrubland) are the traditional ingredients.
Sebadas (or seadas) are the defining Sardinian dessert: a pastry made from semolina dough and lard, filled with a large disc of fresh, slightly sour sheep's milk cheese (slightly fermented — acidulated by the natural lactic cultures), fried in lard until the dough is golden and the cheese has melted and is running, then drizzled with bitter honey (corbezzolo — strawberry tree honey — or aged dark honey). The combination of savoury, sour cheese inside a crisp fried pastry with bitter honey is quintessentially Sardinian.
The fried semolina crust is crisp and golden; the interior is molten, slightly sour, savoury sheep's milk cheese that flows when cut. The bitter corbezzolo honey drizzled over creates a flavour of extraordinary complexity: savoury, sour, sweet, bitter, hot, cold (from the contrast of fried pastry and running cheese). An unusual and compelling dessert.
The fresh cheese used must be slightly sour (fermented for 24-48 hours) — sweet fresh ricotta does not work; it lacks the acidity and salt that balance the honey. The semolina-and-lard dough is stiff and short — almost pastry-like — and must be rolled very thin (2mm) to crisp properly during frying. The cheese disc is placed in the centre and the second pasta disc placed over, sealed with water, and trimmed round. Fry at 180°C for 3-4 minutes until golden and the cheese is visibly beginning to bulge from the steam inside. Drizzle with corbezzolo honey immediately and serve at once.
Corbezzolo honey (from the strawberry tree — Arbutus unedo) is the traditional Sardinian honey for sebadas — its intense bitterness and complex aromatic profile is irreplaceable. If unavailable, use a good dark, bitter honey (buckwheat, chestnut). The slight sourness of the cheese and the bitterness of the honey together create an agrodolce that is entirely unique. Serve immediately — sebadas do not hold.
Using sweet fresh ricotta instead of sour cheese — the flavour balance is completely wrong. Dough too thick — the inside cheese melts and oozes before the dough crisps. Not sealing the edges properly — the melted cheese leaks out into the frying oil. Serving with mild honey — sebadas requires the specific bitterness of corbezzolo or similar bitter honey to balance the richness.
Slow Food Editore, Sardegna in Cucina; Ada Boni, La Cucina Regionale Italiana