Italian · Sardinia · dessert

Seadas con Miele di Corbezzolo

Seadas con Miele di Corbezzolo reads citrus 6.9, sourness 6.2 and richness 6.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Italian · Sardinia dessert, about 2 hr 11 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 6.9 · Sourness 6.2 · Richness 6.0 · Fruity 5.5 · Salinity 3.7 · Sweetness 3.3 · Bitterness 2.9 · Umami 2.8 · Nutty 1.8 · Floral 1.6 · Earthy 1.1 · Herbaceous 0.6

What's in it (9)

Time & effort: about 2 hr 11 min (41 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 128.9 kcal, 3.5 g protein, 3.7 g fat, 20.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. The cheese is the whole dish and it has to be the right one: a very young, barely salted, acidic sheep's cheese, one to three days out of the mould, which melts into strings rather than into oil. Sardinian cheesemongers sell it as formaggio acidulo or fresh pecorino sardo. An aged pecorino will split into a greasy puddle and mozzarella will make something bland and Italian-American in the wrong way.
  2. Rub the lard into the semolina with the salt, add the warm water and knead 10 minutes to a firm, smooth, elastic dough. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
  3. Melt the grated cheese in a heavy pan over the lowest heat with the fine semolina and the lemon zest, stirring constantly for 6 to 8 minutes, until it becomes a single elastic mass that pulls away from the pan in ropes. Do not let it bubble or the fat will break out.
  4. Tip the cheese onto an oiled tray, spread it 1 cm thick and leave it to set for 40 minutes, then cut out 8 discs about 8 cm across.
  5. Roll the dough as thin as 1 mm and cut 16 discs of 10 cm. Sit a cheese disc on 8 of them, brush the border with water, lay a second dough disc on top and press the air out from the centre. Seal the edges firmly and crimp them with a fluted wheel; the classic seada looks like a large ravioli with a scalloped rim. Chill them 20 minutes so the seal holds.
  6. Heat the oil to 175 C. Fry the seadas two at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning hot oil over the tops, until they blister into pale gold pillows and the cheese inside has gone soft. They will steam and swell; if one leaks, lift it out at once.
  7. Drain for 30 seconds and serve immediately, with the corbezzolo honey warmed slightly and poured over. Strawberry-tree honey is dark, bitter and almost medicinal, and the bitterness against the salty cheese is the point of the dish; Sardinian producers sell it, and it is worth the trouble. A plain wildflower honey makes a much sweeter, flatter dessert.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.