*  Exported from  MasterCook  *
 
               SFINCI DI SAN GIUSEPPE (St. Joseph’s Day Frit
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 2    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Italian                          Holiday
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
                         Celestino Drago
    1      pound         Ricotta
                         los Angeles restaurant
      1/4  cup           Semisweet chocolate
                         Food of southern italy
                         finely chopped
    1      Quart         olive oil
      1/3  cup           Powdered sugar
                         --Cream Puff Pastry
    1      teaspoon      Vanilla
    1      cup           Water
    2      tablespoon    Mixed glaceed fruit -- or
      1/2  cup           Butter -- or 1/2 cup
                         citron or orange -- finely
                         unsalted butter with 1/4
                         chopped
                         teaspoon salt
      1/4  cup           Chopped pistachio nuts
    1      tablespoon    Sugar
                         and/or toasted almonds
    1      cup           Flour
      1/4  cup           Heavy whipping cream
    4                    Eggs -- at room temperature
                         --Ricotta Filling
                         Powdered sugar
 
 Heat olive oil to 350 degrees. Carefully drop Cream Puff Pastry batter, by
tablespoonfuls, into hot oil, using finger or another spoon to dislodge dough.
Fry small batches or oil will cool off and fritters will be soggy.
 Fritters will urn themselves over (as bottom of fritter cooks it expands and
becomes lighter than top, which keeps fritters turning). If fritters don't turn,
turn with spoon. Fritters should almost triple in volume. When fritters are
golden brown, remove with slotted spoon to dish lined with paper towels to drain
excess, oil.
 
   Or tear open fritters and fill with Ricotta Filling and dust with powdered
 sugar. Serve immediately. Fritters are best hot; they do not keep well and
 cannot be reheated successfully. Heap on plate and serve. Makes about 25
 fritters.
 
   Note. Fritters may be eaten unfilled. After frying, simply dust fritters
 generously with powdered sugar.
 
   For cream puff pastry  Place water, butter and sugar in heavy saucepan and
 bring to boil over high heat. Add flour all at once, lower heat, and stir
 vigorously with wooden spoon until batter makes soft cohesive mass that does not
 stick to sides of saucepan. Keep stirring batter over low heat about 2 minutes.
 When dough is quite cohesive and maintains ball shape as you spin it around pan,
 remove pan from heat.
 
   Transfer mass of dough to bowl to cool about 10 minutes. When tepid, add 1 egg
 at time, beating in thoroughly. Batter should be firm enough to stand up in
 peaks. More eggs will increase fluffiness. Do not make dough too sot.
 Dough must hold shape readily when pushed around with spoon. Before adding last
egg, test batter in hot oil.
 
   Dough is best used just after making. Dough can be stored, covered, in
 refrigerator up to 2 days. Let dough come slowly to room temperature before
 using and rebet dough.
 
   For Ricotta Filling  Combine ricotta, chocolate, powdered sugar, vanilla, fruit
 and nuts in bowl and mix well. Whip cream until thick and fold into other
 ingredients in bowl. Filling can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in
 refrigerator.
 
   In his book “The Food of Southern Italy,” Carlo Middione writes that there is a
 dish “without which no Southern Italian could live: Sfinci di San Giuseppe.” As
 the name implies, the fritters, filled with ricotta, are traditionally served on
 St. Joseph’s Day. But they're so delicious they make good eating any day of the
 year.
 
   [75236,732]  SICILI.TXT/Asc  Bytes:  13572, Count:   22, 03-Jan-93  MM by Cathy
 Svitek
 
 
 
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