Tiliccas

Name: Tiliccas
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Sarda
Ingredients: 250 g fine durum wheat semolina (semola rimacinata); 40 g strutto (refined lard); 110 ml warm water; 2 g Fine sea salt; 250 ml sapa (cooked grape must syrup); 200 g blanched almonds; 40 g fine semolina; 1 tsp untreated orange zest; 1 pinch Ground cinnamon

Tiliccas, also known as tilicas or caschettas, are delicate Sardinian semolina pastry ribbons shaped into curves and filled with sapa and ground almonds.

🇮🇹Italy· Sardinia

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 65 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 310 kcal

Ingredients

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Servings

250 g fine durum wheat semolina (semola rimacinata) — sifted
40 g strutto (refined lard) — softened at room temperature
110 ml warm water — as needed for dough
2 g Fine sea salt — dissolved in the water
250 ml sapa (cooked grape must syrup) — authentic saba or vincotto
200 g blanched almonds — finely ground
40 g fine semolina — to thicken the filling
1 tsp untreated orange zest — finely grated
1 pinch Ground cinnamon — ground

Equipment

•Pasta rolling machine or rolling pin
•Pastry cutter wheel
•Saucepan
•Baking sheet
•Parchment paper

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 310 kcal
fat: 13 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 3 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 310 kcal

Instructions

1
Combine the fine semolina, softened lard, and salted warm water in a mixing bowl.
2
Knead the dough vigorously for ten minutes until it becomes smooth, elastic, and completely pliable.
3
Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and rest it at room temperature for thirty minutes.
4
Pour the sapa and orange zest into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
5
Whisk the ground almonds, fine semolina, and ground cinnamon into the simmering sapa.
6
Cook the almond mixture for five minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens into a glossy paste.
7
Remove the filling from the heat and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
8
Roll the rested dough through a pasta machine into paper-thin sheets, roughly one millimetre thick.
9
Cut the dough into strips five centimetres wide and fifteen centimetres long using a pastry wheel.
10
Pipe a cylinder of filling down the centre of each strip and fold the dough edges upright.
11
Shape each filled pastry strip into a neat horseshoe, spiral, or S-curve on a lined baking tray.
12
Bake at 150 degrees C for fifteen minutes until the pastry is firm and ivory-white without browning.

Chef's tips

Keep the pastry as thin as possible so it remains crisp and delicate after baking. Do not let the pastry brown in the oven; it must remain chalky white against the dark filling. Let the cooked almond filling cool fully before shaping so it holds its structure inside the pastry ribbons.

Ingredient substitutions

strutto (refined lard) → unsalted butter, though the pastry will be slightly less crisp
sapa (cooked grape must syrup) → dark runny honey or pomegranate molasses diluted with a splash of warm water

Storage

Store completely cooled tiliccas in an airtight tin lined with parchment paper at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Reheating

Tiliccas are eaten at room temperature and should not be reheated in an oven or microwave.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Over-baking the pastries until the white semolina casing turns golden brown.
•Rolling the dough too thickly, which makes the pastry shell unpleasantly hard once baked.
•Adding hot filling directly onto the dough strips, which melts the lard and causes tearing.

Serving suggestions

Serve at room temperature alongside a glass of Sardinian Cannonau or sweet Malvasia di Bosa.Arrange on a decorative ceramic platter as part of a traditional Sardinian holiday sweets spread.