Seadas or Sebadas are a Sardinian specialty that shows the islanders’ ability to make something fantastic with everyday ingredients. Think of the flakiest, crackliest and sweetest pastries made only with semolina flour, lard and warm water.
To think such a delicate two-biter has been a staple in Sardegna for centuries is overwhelming, but this is not the whole story. Before frying the beautiful pastries to golden perfection, they stuff them with the island’s signature pecorino cheese — a smooth-as-silk, slightly salty goat’s milk cheese that’s amongst Sardegna’s most prized food specialties.
People traditionally flavor the gooey cheese with freshly grated lemon zest that adds a vibrant, citrusy feel to the light dessert. When the whole thing is drizzled with raw honey or dusted with sugar, you know you’re in for a treat. Simple and beautiful — that’s the Sardinian way.
You want to enjoy seadas while they’re still piping hot when the cheese is melted to perfection and the pastry dough is beautifully crispy. Although this treat is fit for a king, and you could easily find them in the most sophisticated restaurants, seadas have a pastoral tradition and were enjoyed by shepherds while on a break from herding their valuable goats.
It comes without saying, with such few ingredients, quality matters. This means authentic seadas are drizzled with the island’s famous Corbezzolo honey, the pecorino is as fresh as goat’s cheese gets, and semolina flour has a deep tradition in Italy. These are Sardinian flavors elevated to delicious heights.
Try seadas, and you’ll never see desserts in the same way. You’ll certainly appreciate the value of few quality ingredients put together for a treat that might not look too complicated but that it’s perfect in every way.
