MypinchofItaly
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These sweet fried dumplings are known as seadas or sebadas, and are a famous Sardinian dessert.
The key to their unique taste is the stark contrast between the sweet and mild cheese of the filling and the bitter Strawberry tree honey, known in Italian as miele di corbezzolo.
The Strawberry tree flowers between October and November; sometimes the weather is already too cold for the bees to still be active, and so this kind of honey is not necessarily produced every year. It’s rare, so it’s a bit more expensive, but worth trying at least once!
Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10-15 mins + 30 mins resting time | Cooking time: 10-15 mins
Mix together in a bowl the semolina flour, the lard, a pinch of salt and just about enough lukewarm water to knead the dough. Cover the bowl with some plastic foil and refrigerate the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
Melt the cheese in a pan, add the lemon zest and rinse thoroughly; you can add some water to help the cheese to melt.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface with the help of a rolling-pin. Using a dough cutter, cut out discs of dough about 5 cm in diameter.
Heat up the seeds oil in a large and deep sauce pan.
Put a spoonful of melted cheese in the middle of every second disc; then, overlay two discs with the cheese between them and press on the edges of the dough to close the discs together, pushing them down with the prongs of a fork.
Deep-fry each dumpling for about 1 minute on each side, or until they turn golden. Once ready, lay down the seadas on some kitchen paper to absorb the leftover seeds oil.
Serve the seadas when they are still warm, drizzling the honey on top.
Tip: the Dolce Sardo is a soft and mild Sardinian cheese, made from cow milk. If you need to substitute it with a different cheese, I recommend ricotta, Asiago, White Stilton, or else any cheese made from sheep milk. Be careful: goat cheese has a too intense taste, same for Pecorino - despite it is made with sheep's milk but it is still quite salty and with a too strong taste for this recipe, thus using Pecorino would unbalance the flavours of this recipe.
The key to their unique taste is the stark contrast between the sweet and mild cheese of the filling and the bitter Strawberry tree honey, known in Italian as miele di corbezzolo.
The Strawberry tree flowers between October and November; sometimes the weather is already too cold for the bees to still be active, and so this kind of honey is not necessarily produced every year. It’s rare, so it’s a bit more expensive, but worth trying at least once!
Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10-15 mins + 30 mins resting time | Cooking time: 10-15 mins
- Semolina flour: 300 g
- Lard: 50 g or Extra virgin olive oil: 3 tbsp
- Lemon or orange zest: 1
- Dolce Sardo cheese: to taste
- Strawberry tree honey: to taste
- Seeds oil (for deep frying)
Mix together in a bowl the semolina flour, the lard, a pinch of salt and just about enough lukewarm water to knead the dough. Cover the bowl with some plastic foil and refrigerate the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
Melt the cheese in a pan, add the lemon zest and rinse thoroughly; you can add some water to help the cheese to melt.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface with the help of a rolling-pin. Using a dough cutter, cut out discs of dough about 5 cm in diameter.
Heat up the seeds oil in a large and deep sauce pan.
Put a spoonful of melted cheese in the middle of every second disc; then, overlay two discs with the cheese between them and press on the edges of the dough to close the discs together, pushing them down with the prongs of a fork.
Deep-fry each dumpling for about 1 minute on each side, or until they turn golden. Once ready, lay down the seadas on some kitchen paper to absorb the leftover seeds oil.
Serve the seadas when they are still warm, drizzling the honey on top.
Tip: the Dolce Sardo is a soft and mild Sardinian cheese, made from cow milk. If you need to substitute it with a different cheese, I recommend ricotta, Asiago, White Stilton, or else any cheese made from sheep milk. Be careful: goat cheese has a too intense taste, same for Pecorino - despite it is made with sheep's milk but it is still quite salty and with a too strong taste for this recipe, thus using Pecorino would unbalance the flavours of this recipe.
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