Mary Jo Cassar
As this coming weekend we celebrate the feast of St.Joseph, here again goes my Zeppole recipe by general request ! Enjoy.
ZEPPOLE DI SAN GIUSEPPE
Ingredients Makes about 24
For the choux pastry:
300 ml water
½ tsp salt
100g butter
150g plain flour
4 fresh eggs
For the filling:
650g ricotta (I use Italian ricotta which is more creamy)
6 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Zest of a local lemon
100g mixed candied peel
100g plain dark chocolate, finely chopped
For decorating:
5 tbsp good honey
100g pine nuts, toasted
Method
Start by making the choux pastry. Place the butter, salt and water in a pot and heat until the butter melts. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Quickly tip in the flour all at one go. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough is smooth and forms a ball that gathers itself off the sides of the pot. leave to cool.
Switch on your oven to 185 degrees C.
Transfer the dough to a food mixer and gradually add the eggs one by one while beating continuously. Continue beating for around 4 minutes until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Spoon the dough into a forcing bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle. Pipe small balls of the mixture, the size of a walnut, onto the lined baking tray.
Place in your pre-heated oven and bake for around 30 minutes or until the profiteroles are crisp and golden brown in colour.
Bring them out of the oven and by means of a skewer make 2 tiny holes in each profiterole. Return them quickly into the oven and continue baking them for another 10 minutes. This will help keeping the profiteroles crisp for a longer time.
Place the profiteroles on a wire rack and leave them to cool completely. If you are not using the profiteroles immediately, do not be tempted to store them in an airtight container as they will soften up. Just cover them with a clean cloth. However, profiteroles always tend to soften up a little. My mother always used to pop them into a hot oven for 10 minutes before filling them.
Now make the Sicilian filling. Place the ricotta in bowl and beat it with a fork for 1 minute. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Beat for a few minutes using a spoon and then mix in the candied peel and the chocolate. Keep chilled until ready for use.
Carefully cut the profiteroles almost in half and use a teaspoon to fill them up. Pile them up on a suitable serving plate. Just before serving drizzle the honey over them and scatter with pine nuts.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe are traditionally prepared to commemorate St. Joseph’s day on March 19th. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the family, workers, the dying, spinsters, home buyers and of the Catholic Church. His feast day is commemorated with great devotion in the historic village of Rabat, Malta. Traditionally, these sweets are only eaten on the eve and on the feast day of the much loved saint.
I have given you the healthier method of baking the choux pastry. To fry the pastry, drop spoonfuls of the dough into a pot of very hot vegetable oil. Fry the Choux pastry balls until nicely golden. They will rise to the top of the oil when nearly done. Scoop them out gently and place them on kitchen tissue for the oil to be absorbed. Stuff with the filling when they are cold.
Good afternoon from Malta's magnificent capital city Valletta! ❤
Good afternoon from Malta's magnificent capital city Valletta! ❤
