When we talk about Sicilian cuisine we cannot help but think of Cannoli . In fact, this dessert represents Sicily itself in Italy and throughout the world.
Their taste is unique in the world, with the characteristic ricotta filling which is often also seasoned with many elements with chocolate or candied fruit.
In this post you will find out how to prepare your own original Sicilian cannoli.
History of Sicilian Cannoli.
If we talk about Italian pastry it is extremely difficult not to think of Sicilian cannoli. The most characteristic and iconic desserts of the Sicilian tradition!
This dessert certainly has ancient origins (we know it was prepared for the carnival) but a little blurry, as is the case with almost any traditional and historical food.
However, we know that the name of this dessert comes from the river reeds that were used precisely to give the typical shape to the pasta that makes up the Sicilian cannoli.
Sicilian Cannoli: History and Legends
It is very difficult to give an exact origin to such an ancient product as the Sicilian cannolo!
Precisely because of its antiquity, the Sicilian cannolo is lost among myths and legends that we easily encounter by surfing the web.
Among the most popular versions (which however have no confirmation) there is the story according to which the women favored by the emir dedicated their time to the preparation of particularly tasty dishes, thus inventing the cannolo as a reference to the "skills" of their sultan.
Among the rest we also have a theory according to which cannoli were invented in a convent near Caltanissetta.
Name of the Sicilian Cannolo
What we are sure of even today is that the name of the Sicilian cannolo certainly dates back to the Arab domination of Sicily (between 827 and 1091).
It seems in fact that, while sheep's ricotta was a food already processed and produced in Sicily at the time, it was instead the Arabs who were the first to work sheep's ricotta together with other products such as dried fruit, candied fruit, cinnamon, saffron and much more. other…
How to Prepare Sicilian Cannoli: Ingredients and Procedure.
Ingredients for 30 cannoli:
- Flour 00: 260 g
- Lard: 30 g (cold from the fridge)
- Fine salt: 1 tsp
- White wine vinegar: 10 g
- Sugar: 20g
- Bitter cocoa powder: 5 g
- Eggs: 20 g
- Marsala: 60 g
- Seed oil: 1 l
- Candied cherries
- Powdered sugar
- Pistachio grain
- Candied orange
Ingredients for the Sicilian cannoli filling:
- Sheep ricotta: 1 kg
- Sugar 130g
- Dark chocolate drops: 80 g
Method
- Let's start preparing the waffle. Pour into a bowl: flour, sifted cocoa, sugar, salt, cold lard from the fridge.
- Beat 20 g of egg and add it to the bowl together with the rest (keep the remaining egg aside, you will use it to brush the cannoli later)
- Pour in the marsala and the vinegar, then start kneading with your hands
- Take the dough out of the bowl and continue to knead it vigorously for about 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth. Cover it with a film and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for half an hour.
- Divide the dough in half and take one of the halves leaving the other covered.
- Lightly flour both sides, mash well with your hands and then pass to the pasta machine. If the dough should break, mix again and repeat the procedure.
- As soon as the result seems very compact, fold the two ends inside and pass everything over with the pasta machine. Repeat this 3-4 times until everything is smooth.
- Now that the dough is smooth, fold it just once and pass it 3-4 more times through the pasta machine.
- Then fold the sheet again, this time always a fold on the short side so as to obtain a low and long sheet. Switch to the reels again. Keep pulling until the shim on the machine is 0.5mm. In case your dough is getting too long, divide it and keep going.
- As soon as your sheet is 0.5 mm thick, divide it in half and work on one of them. Cut with a smooth blade cutter, obtaining squares of 10 cm on each side.
- Take a square in your hand and place a steel cylinder obliquely in the center of the square (between one corner and the other). Wrap one of the free corners around the cylinder, then brush one edge with the egg and join it to the other. Thus you will have formed the first cannoli.
- Continue like this with all your dough, allowing the cannoli to air dry before cooking.
- Heat the oil up to 180° (help yourself with a kitchen thermometer). Fry the cannoli one at a time with a slotted spoon. Keep them immersed for a few moments, so that they do not touch the bottom of the pot and cannot burn. Turn them continuously for less than 1 minute.
Then drain the cannoli with tongs. - Arrange them on a tray with kitchen paper and let them become warm before removing the cylinder from the inside. At this point gently squeeze the cannoli and push the cylinder in the opposite direction to which you inserted it to remove it delicately. Leave to cool completely.
- Take a bowl and sift the ricotta, then pour sugar and mix everything with a spatula.
- Add chocolate chips to the compound, mix everything. Place everything in a sac-à-few and fill the cannoli.
- Then garnish (if you like it) with pistachios, candied orange peel, cherries or quick sugar.
- Serve your cannoli and… enjoy your meal!
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