Kannoli tal-irkotta

Ingredients

Shells

• 400 gplain flour
• 40 gsugar
• 40 glard or butter
• 1 tablespooncocoa powder, optional
• 1egg
• about 120 ml dry white wine
• or marsala
• 1 teaspoonwhite vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1egg white, for sealing

Filling

• 800 gsheep ricotta
• or 800 g good ricotta
• 200 gicing sugar
• 100 gcandied peel, chopped
• 80 gdark chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• the zest of 1 orange

To fry and finish

• oil, for deep frying
• icing sugar, to dust
• chopped pistachios
• glace cherries

Directions

1. Line a sieve with muslin or a cloth. Tip the ricotta into the lined sieve. Set it over a bowl in the refrigerator. Leave it overnight to drain fully. Press it down gently at the end. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the cocoa if you are using it. Rub the lard through with your fingertips. Beat the egg and add it to it. Add the vinegar to the bowl too.
2. Add the wine gradually until it comes together. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and quite firm. Wrap the dough and refrigerate it. Give it at least one full hour. Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll each out very thin indeed.
3. Take it down to about two millimetres. Thin dough gives a light shattering shell. Cut rounds about twelve centimetres across. Use a cutter or a small plate. Grease the metal tubes lightly. Lay a round of dough over a tube. Wrap the two edges around the tube. Brush that overlap with egg white. Press it firmly down to seal it. A weak seal opens in the hot oil.
4. Press it hard and check every one. Do not let egg white touch the tube itself. Pour oil into a deep pan to eight centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil to about 180C for frying. A scrap of dough should sizzle up at once. Fry two or three at a time only. Cooking them takes only minutes.
5. Fry them for about three minutes. Turn them over as they colour. They should be deep golden brown. Lift them out onto a wire rack. Let them cool for a minute or two. Hold the tube with a cloth, since it is hot.
6. Twist the shell gently to release it. Too hot and the shell breaks as you slide it. Let the shells cool completely on a rack. Store them in a tin until needed. Beat the drained ricotta until smooth. Add the icing sugar to the bowl. Add the vanilla and orange zest. Fold in the candied peel and chocolate. It should be thick and hold its shape.
7. Add more icing sugar if it is loose. Chill it until you actually need it. Filling them is done at the last moment. Spoon the filling into a piping bag. Fill it halfway from that end. Dip each open end in chopped pistachios. Dust the whole thing with icing sugar. Serving them is done immediately.

Technique

• The shells must be filled at the last moment, since ricotta is wet and a filled cannolo goes soggy within an hour; bakeries fill them while the customer waits, and this is the single most important rule of the sweet.
• Wine and vinegar in the dough are what make the shell blister: alcohol evaporates fast in hot oil and pushes the dough into blisters, while vinegar weakens the gluten so the shell is shorter and crisper.
• The overlap must be sealed hard with egg white or the shell unwraps in the oil, but no egg white should touch the metal tube itself, which would glue the shell to it.

Substitutions

• Cow ricotta stands in for sheep ricotta if it is drained thoroughly overnight.
• Marsala can replace the white wine in the dough.

Variations

• A cocoa version of the shell is made in some bakeries.
• Pistachios, glace cherries or candied peel finish the open ends.
• Unfilled shells keep a week, so they are fried ahead and filled to order.

History

A Sicilian sweet fully naturalised in Malta, made with local ġbejniet ricotta and sold at every village feast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kannoli tal-irkotta?

Kannoli tal-irkotta is a dessert from Malta: fried pastry tubes filled with sweetened sheep ricotta and candied peel. A Sicilian sweet fully naturalised in Malta, made with local ġbejniet ricotta and sold at every village feast.

How long does Kannoli tal-irkotta take to make?

Kannoli tal-irkotta takes 1 hour plus resting of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 cannoli. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kannoli tal-irkotta?

Yes, within limits. Cow ricotta stands in for sheep ricotta if it is drained thoroughly overnight. Marsala can replace the white wine in the dough.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kannoli tal-irkotta?

Press it hard and check every one. Do not let egg white touch the tube itself. Pour oil into a deep pan to eight centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil to about 180C for frying. A scrap of dough should sizzle up at once. Fry two or three at a time only. Cooking them takes only minutes.