Seadas
Sardinian cheese pastries with honey
Crisp fried semolina pastry surrounds warm sheep’s cheese and lemon zest, finished with honey while the center is still soft.
Crisp pastry, warm sheep’s cheese & honeyA crisp shell,
warm cheese and honey.
Seadas are round Sardinian pastries with a crisp fried shell and a warm cheese filling. Lemon or orange zest scents the cheese, while honey brings sweetness to its savory edge. They are usually served hot, before the center firms up.
You may also see the names sebadas or sevadas. Honey changes the flavor, from mild floral types to the more bitter local corbezzolo, or strawberry-tree honey. The home recipe uses an eggless semolina dough and young sheep’s cheese sold specifically for melting in seadas; aged grating pecorino behaves differently.
Explore by food: Desserts
Let’s make seadas.
Eight large pastries, about 11 cm across. Buy young melting sheep’s cheese suitable for seadas; this is not a recipe for aging cheese at home.
Eight seadas about 11 cm across; one per serving.
What you’ll need
Dough
- 200 gfine re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 50 gplain flour, plus 20 g for rolling
- 25 glard, softened
- 125 mllukewarm water, plus 1 tbsp for sealing
- ¼ tspfine salt
Filling and finishing
- 320 gyoung lightly soured sheep’s cheese suitable for seadas, coarsely grated
- 1 tspfinely grated unwaxed lemon zest
- 120 ghoney
- about 1 lsunflower oil, enough for 4 cm depth in the pan
The 25-minute cooking allowance includes heating the oil and frying in small batches. Seadas need a suitable young melting cheese; aged Pecorino Romano is not a substitute. Doughs containing egg and other cheese preparations are separate variations.
How to make it
- 01
Knead and rest
Mix semolina, flour and salt. Rub in the lard, add the 125 ml water and knead for about 8–10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Cover tightly and rest for 30 minutes.
- 02
Portion the filling
Mix the grated cheese with the lemon zest and divide into eight portions. Keep refrigerated while the dough rests. The cheese should be young and able to soften when heated, not a dry aged wedge.
- 03
Roll and seal
Roll the dough in small portions to about 1.5 mm, keeping unused dough covered. Cut sixteen 11 cm circles, gathering and rerolling scraps as needed. Place one cheese portion in the center of eight circles, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Lightly dampen the borders with water and add the remaining circles. Press out trapped air and seal firmly; crimp lightly with a fork without piercing the filling.
- 04
Heat the oil
Pour oil into a wide heavy pan to a depth of about 4 cm, leaving the pan no more than half full. Heat to 170°C/340°F. Warm the honey gently in a small bowl set over hot water so it flows easily.
- 05
Fry in batches
Lower in one or two pastries at a time. Fry for about 2–3 minutes in total, turning carefully, until both sides are pale golden and blistered and the cheese is soft inside. Keep the oil near 170°C/340°F between batches; reduce the heat if the pastry browns too fast.
- 06
Finish warm
Lift onto kitchen paper briefly, then transfer to plates. Drizzle each with about 15 g honey. Let stand for a minute before eating; the filling can be very hot.
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