Felidia’s Stacked Cannoli
To make chopped toasted pistachios, blanch the shelled nuts in vigorously boiling unsalted water until they turn bright green and the skins are loosened, about 20 seconds. Drain the nuts and immediately run them under cold water. Slip off the skins and drain them briefly on paper towels. Toast the nuts on a baking sheet in a 350° F oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove, and cool completely before chopping.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 6 servings
Ingredients
For the Pastry
For the Filling
Preparation
Step 1
Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Drain the ricotta in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
Make the pastry
Step 2
Pour the flour, granulated sugar, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the oil, vinegar, and 1/3 cup wine. Process the dough, adding more red wine a few drops at a time if necessary, until you have a smooth, supple dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight.
Make the filling
Step 3
Beat the drained ricotta and 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar in a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate, orange rind, and pistachios. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Step 4
Roll half the dough out 1/16 inch thick (about the thickness of a dime) on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 3-inch rounds, setting them on a lightly floured kitchen towel as you do. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Gather the scraps together and reroll them, cutting as many rounds as possible. You should have at least eighteen rounds. Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes before continuing, or the finished pastry layers will be tough.
Step 5
Pour enough of the vegetable oil into a large, heavy skillet to fill about 1/2 inch. Heat over medium heat until the oil appears rippling and an edge of one of the dough rounds gives off a slow sizzle when dipped in the oil. Carefully slide as many of the rounds into the oil as will fit without touching. Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. The dough circles will bubble and take on an irregular shape as they fry; make sure the oil is deep enough to cook and brown all the surfaces of the dough as they fry. Adjust the heat during cooking to maintain a lively sizzle and to give the dough a chance to cook through to the center. Don’t allow the oil to get too hot: the dough colors quickly and can burn before the center is sufficiently cooked. Transfer the cooked pastry rounds to paper towels to drain, and fry the remaining rounds, adding more oil to the pan and waiting for the oil to reheat as necessary. Cool the circles completely before continuing.
To assemble the cannoli
Step 6
Place a circle of the fried dough in the center of a serving plate and top with a rounded 2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling. Repeat with another dough circle and more filling, and top with a dough circle. Make five more stacked cannoli in the same way. Drizzle honey over each and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Sprinkle some of the chopped toasted pistachios around the cannoli.
Variation: Classic Cannoli
Step 7
To prepare classic, tube-shaped cannoli, you will need metal cannoli tubes about 1 inch in diameter, available in specialty cookware shops. Prepare the filling as described above. (The above amount will fill about eight traditional cannoli.) Prepare and roll out the dough as described above, and beat an additional egg with a few drops of water until foamy.
Step 8
Wrap one of the dough circles around a cannoli tube; you will see that the edges overlap. Lift the top edge and dab the lower edge with a few drops of the beaten egg. Press the two edges together to seal them tightly. Let the dough tubes stand a minute or two so the egg will dry. Repeat with the remaining dough and tubes. If you don’t have enough cannoli tubes to accommodate all the dough circles, work in batches.
Step 9
Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep, heavy braising pan to fill 3 inches. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350° F. Carefully slide a few of the shells and tubes into the hot oil. Fry, turning as necessary, until the shells are golden brown and blistered evenly on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them carefully with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. As soon as the tubes are cool enough to handle, slide the shells off the tubes. Cool completely before filling. Fill the cannoli shells with a teaspoon just before serving, or they will become soggy. However, the fried shells can be stored at room temperature for several hours before filling.
