🇮🇹 Italian · Dessert
🍯 Seadas
Seadas
Large, golden Sardinian pastry parcels filled with tangy fresh cheese, fried until crisp, and drizzled generously with warm honey — a striking sweet-savory finish to a Sardinian meal.
The sharp, slightly sour young pecorino used to fill seadas is essential to balancing the dish's generous honey drizzle, and the pastry's thin, crisp shell shatters to reveal a molten, stretchy cheese center that catches diners by surprise every time.
Ingredients
Equipment: Mixing bowl, Rolling pin or pasta machine, Deep pot for frying
- 400 g (3 cups) 00 flour
- 80 g (⅓ cup) lard or butter, softened
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) warm water
- Pinch of salt
- 400 g (14 oz) young, tangy pecorino or fresh cheese, coarsely grated
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 150 g (½ cup) honey, warmed
Method
- Combine the flour, lard or butter, water, and salt into a smooth, elastic dough. Rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Combine the grated cheese with the lemon zest.
- Roll the dough very thin, using a pasta machine if available, and cut into rounds about 12cm across.
- Place a portion of the cheese filling in the center of half the rounds, leaving a border.
- Top each with a second round of dough, pressing the edges firmly to seal, crimping if needed to ensure a tight closure.
- Heat vegetable oil to 180°C (350°F) and fry the parcels until deeply golden and puffed, about 2–3 minutes per side.
- Drain briefly on paper towels.
- Serve immediately while hot, drizzled generously with warm honey.
Chef Tips
- Seal the edges of each parcel very thoroughly — any gap will let the cheese leak out during frying.
- A young, tangy pecorino gives the best contrast against the sweet honey; overly aged, hard cheese won't melt properly.
- Serve these immediately after frying, while the cheese center is still molten and stretchy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not sealing the edges well enough, causing the filling to escape into the frying oil.
- Using aged, hard cheese instead of a young, fresh variety, which won't achieve the right melting texture.
- Letting the fried seadas sit too long before serving, when the cheese center is at its best straight from the fryer.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of protein and calcium from the cheese, best enjoyed as an occasional indulgent treat.
Cultural Note
Seadas are a beloved Sardinian specialty, their striking sweet-and-savory combination of tangy fried cheese and honey a distinctive marker of the island's unique culinary identity.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately; not suited to storage or reheating given the molten cheese center.
Reheating: Not recommended; best enjoyed fresh and hot.
Serve with: Warm honey, A glass of sweet Sardinian wine