Executive Chef Brad Vigue created this recipe for Blueberry Fest in 2018.
Yield: Twelve Small Cannoli
Ingredients
Cannoli Shells
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp soft butter
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ tsp nutmeg – may reduce depending on personal taste
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 fl oz sweet Marsala wine
Additional supplies
- wooden dowel
(8” long 1.25” diameter) - Aluminum foil
Blueberry Cannoli Filling
- 16oz ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Juice & zest ½ lemon
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 fl oz limoncello liquor
Lemon Thyme Crumble
- 2 tbsp all purposse flour
- 5 tbsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- (picked, finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp butter, cold, cut into small cubes
- Zest of 1 lemon
To Assemble Cannoli
- Prepare filling as per recipe, Place the blueberry filling into piping bags with round tips
- Fill the cannoli from 1 end until the ricotta mixture is flush with the end of the shell, turn and fill the other side
- Dip each end of the cannoli into the crumble, lightly shake off any excess
- Place on small plate or platter
- Dust lightly with icing sugar, garnish with small pinch of lemon zest
Method
Prepare Cannoli Shells
- Slice salmon into 2.5oz pieces. Cut on the bias—thin and flat.
- Season salmon with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
- Sear over high heat in frying pan for 15 to 20 seconds on each side until fish is cooked (depends on thickness)
Prepare Kale, Kholrabi & Carrot Slaw
- Add all ingredients except the Marsala into a bowl, mix together with a fork or pastry cutter, should be crumbly and uniform
- Add the wine 1 fl oz at a time until you can mix the dough with your hands
- Form dough into a ball and let sit for 30 min. While the dough rests, you can make the cannoli tubes
- Remove a sheet of foil 12” long, fold it in half with the dull side out
- Wrap the foil around the dowel (approx. 3 times around ), slide off and set aside
- Repeat 8 times (makes 8 tubes)
- Set aside
- Lightly flour surface and roll out dough to 2-3 mm thick. (about the thickness of a nickel)
- Use a 4” to 5” side plate or ring cutter to cut dough
- Slide a foil tube over the dowel, wrap a disk of dough around the foiled dowel, wet the overlapping edges and press together gently to secure the edge
- Remove from dowel and fry in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet @ 360F
- Rotate using tongs if the shells “roll” during cooking
- Fry until golden, remove and drain over paper towel
- Cool for 2-3 min, remove the foil tube, cool foli for about 3 min before wrapping with another piece of dough
- Once cool, hold in an air tight container until ready to use
Prepare Blueberry Cannoli Filling
- Strain ricotta in cheesecloth, place in a strainer over a bowl or pan
- Cover with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel
- Put a weight on the ricotta (can or side plate), refrigerate overnight.
- Remove ricotta and place in mixer
- Using paddle attachment,
- beat until smooth
- Add sugar, lemon juice,
- zest & vanilla
- In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with Limoncello,
- let stand for 20 min
- In separate bowl, add blueberry mixture into ricotta and fold together with spatula
- Place mixture into fridge to firm up
- When ready to serve, transfer blueberry ricotta mixture into piping bag with round tip
Prepare Lemon Thyme Crumble
- Combine flour, sugar, lemon zest & thyme, mix together
- Add cubes of cold butter and cut into mixture with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs
- Spread mixture onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Bake at 335 F for 12-15 min or until light golden. (watch this closely as each oven is different)
- Remove from oven, allow to cool
- Place in air tight container until ready to use