Tastes like Home: Nonna's cannoli | ABC Everyday | ABC Australia

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“I miss my Nonna. COVID lockdowns and very busy lives have interrupted our regular catch ups. At 38 I am so lucky to still have her in my life. She's taught me all I know about cooking, food and family”.

ABC Radio Melbourne and Everyday asked you to tell us about the person whom you wish you could be with right now and why you would love to cook up a ‘virtual’ storm with them.

Andrew finally got to spend some time with his Nonna and learn how to make ricotta cannoli.

CANNOLI RECIPE:

Crispy sweet pastry shell filled with sweet ricotta and chocolate mixture, dusted with icing sugar enjoyed with a strong espresso or glass of limoncello! Recipe by Enza Zunica, learned from her mother in Eboli, Italy in the 1950’s.

Recipe details below makes approximately 24 cannoli.

INGREDIENTS

Pastry Shell

Plain Flour - 1 ½ Cups

Caster Sugar - 3 Tablespoons

Butter - 60 Grams (room temperature)

Egg - 1 Standard Size

Dry White Wine - ½ Cup

Filling

Unsalted ricotta - 500 grams (dry)

Milk chocolate - 100 grams (rough chopped)

Toasted almonds - 100 grams (roughly crushed)

Caster Sugar - ½ Cup

Sweet Citrus Liquor - 2 Tablespoons

To Cook

Vegetable Cooking Oil - Deep Frying

Egg White - 1 (beaten to stick pastry)

Pistachios - 100 grams (crushed)

Icing Sugar - To Finish

METHOD

1. Mix Plain Flour, Caster Sugar, Butter, Egg and Dry White Wine in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

Turn out onto bench and roll into a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 1-2

hours.

2. Put unsalted ricotta, milk chocolate, toasted almonds, caster sugar and liquor into a large bowl and mix until well combined. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge.

3. Remove from pastry from fridge and roll out into flat pieces. Start with the tip of your fingers, then move to a rolling pin to flatten enough to be processed by a pasta machine. Using the pasta machine start on the thickest setting and feed pasty through several times until you reach the thinnest setting.

Dust with small amounts of flour to prevent from sticking. The pastry should be smooth, and in long sheets approximately 12-15cm wide.

4. Use a 10cm round pastry cutter to cut out cannoli rounds. Wrap the cannoli pastry around aluminium

cannoli tubes and stick the edges of the cannoli pastry with egg white. Be careful not to get egg white onto the aluminium tube.

5. Heat oil in a large frying pan that will allow cannoli to float and cook all over. Allow cannoli shells to brown all over, remove from oil and place on rack to dry and cool. When cool slowly remove the cannoli pastry from the aluminium tube and place on a tray.

6. Remove filing from the fridge and using a knife, carefully stuff the cannoli tubes with the ricotta

filling, ensuring you fill all the way through.

7. Put the crushed pistachios into a flat plate and dip one end of the ricotta into the pistachios to form a crust on one end. Place on a serving tray and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy!

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