Pumpkin, ricotta & pistachio cannoli
Try Natalie Homan’s twist on cannoli, with a taste of pumpkin in the classic Italian treat to mix things up a bit.
makes about 18
for cannoli shells
250g flour
50g caster sugar
50g cold butter, cubed
1 egg
1 egg white to seal cannoli
60ml marsala
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
vegetable oil for frying
for filling
1 cup pumpkin puree*
500g firm ricotta
1 cup icing sugar
¼ cup honey
¾ cup finely chopped pistachio, for serving
For cannoli shells, place flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg, marsala and vinegar and process until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set up a pasta machine and heat deep frying oil to 180C. Halve the dough and pass each piece through the pasta machine until 2mm thick. Cut the dough with a 7cm square cutter. Working in batches, wrap each piece around a cannoli tube and seal with a dab of egg white. Fry until golden and crisp (1-2 minutes), drain on paper towel and carefully slip off the tube.
For filling, place pumpkin puree, ricotta, honey and icing sugar into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Transfer mix to a piping bag and pipe the mix into the cooled cannoli shells. Serve cannoli immediately, sprinkled with pistachio.
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* Here are Natalie Homan’s tips to the best-ever puree:
It is important the pumpkin puree is as dry as possible. This is best achieved by roasting in a 190C oven, lightly coated in oil, until tender. Blend until smooth then place the puree in a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Fold over excess cheesecloth to cover the puree, place a small plate and a weight on top (for example tinned tomatoes). Place in the refrigerator overnight. The amount of liquid extruded will vary (especially between varieties) but as a general rule 1kg of pumpkin will yield 2 cups of puree (I used Kent pumpkin for all the following recipes).
This recipe first appeared in the May 2025 issue of SALIFE magazine.
