Carmela Soprano's Sfingi (St. Joseph's Day Zeppole)

Salads are great.

They leave plenty of room for desserts.

To my way of thinking, it all balances out in the end.

I’ve noticed that people have searched for traditional recipes at a variety of times.

I’ve seen people look for fruitcake recipes in the spring.

Maybe they just like to plan ahead.

If you’re in the mood for a doughnut - or just want to get ready for the feast 

of St. Joseph on March 19 - here’s the recipe for Carmela’s Sfingi from Entertaining with The Sopranos.  It is also called St. Joseph's Day Zeppole.

Sfingi has a lot of Mediterranean mojo attached to it.

As Carmela explained: 

If it is not St. Joseph's Day, you can just shake these, without the filling, 

in a bag with cinnamon sugar and serve them like donuts.

If there's someone in the crowd who is lactose intolerant, Bobby's recipe for Zeppole in his chapter If I Couldn't Eat, I'd F**king Die in Artie Bucco's The Sopranos Family Cookbook is also good.

Or you can just serve them as unfilled donuts.

Hint:

If you don't have a deep-frying thermometer, test the oil by slipping a bit of the dough into the oil.  It should sizzle and turn brown in 1 minute.

                        Sfingi 

Makes 12

For the Filling

In a medium bowl whisk together until smooth

15 ounces ricotta

3/4 Cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir in

1/4 Cup mini chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon finely chopped candied citron or orange peel

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the Sfingi

In a medium saucepan place

1 Cup water

1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Cook until the butter melts.

Remove from heat.

Add all at once

1 Cup flour

Stir well until the flour is completely mixed in.

Return the saucepan to the medium heat.

Cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, until the dough

begins to leave a thin film on the bottom of the pan.

(Don’t rush this - you want the dough to dry so the puffs will be crisp.)

Scrape the dough into a large bowl.

With an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat in

ONE AT A TIME

4 large eggs, at room temperature

Continue to beat until smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes.

In a deep saucepan or deep fryer pour

about 3 inches vegetable oil

Heat to 375º on a deep-fry thermometer or test with dough.

With a tablespoon, scoop a rounded spoonful of batter.

With another spoon, carefully scrape the dough into the hot oil.

Be careful that it doesn’t splash.

Continue to add spoonfuls of dough.

The dough will puff up, so don’t add too much.

Don't crowd or they will stick together and won't fry properly.

Cook, stirring a couple of times, about 4 minutes,

until the balls break open.

Continue to cook another 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.

Remove the sfingi with a slotted spoon.

Drain on paper towels.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Let cool slightly.

With a small knife, split the sfingi partway open.

Spoon the Ricotta Cream Filling into the puffs, allowing a bit to show in the split.

Press into the cream of each

a halved candied cherry (12 halves)

Place on a platter.

Sprinkle the sfingi with 

2 Tablespoons chopped unsalted pistachios

Dust with 

Confectioners’ sugar

If filled, they are best served right after they are made.

Shrikhand for Diwali by Margaret Ullrich

Living in the north end of Winnipeg, I sometimes can't find some exotic items in my local grocery store.

However, one of the nice things about the north end of Winnipeg is that - due to the luck of having neighbours who are an incredible mix of people from all over the world - 

I get to taste food from other countries.

And I'm not talking the bland, toned-down stuff you find in stores, but real recipes from real folks who know how things are supposed to taste.

We're talking recipes that have been in the family for quite a while.

And they are perfect.

This Sunday is the Hindu feast of Diwali, the festival of lights.

And just like all proper feasts, there's a special recipe for the celebration.

Shrikhand is a dessert that is very easy to make.

Hints:

Greek yogurt or yogurt that is 9%-14% fat content would be perfect for this.

Saffron is really hard to find.

And expensive.

About the only time stores carry it is before Easter for folks who make Paska. 

They often have to request it a few weeks in advance.

An easier to find (and cheaper) spice you can use instead of saffron is turmeric.

I've read that instead of saffron, some folks use safflower annatto.

No, I don't know where you'd find that.

You can add more or less sugar, depending on how sweet you'd like it to be.

Shrikhand is also delicious as a cupcake frosting… and healthier.

                        Shrikhand

Place in a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl

1 Kilogram of thick yogurt 

Place the yogurt in the fridge and allow it to drain overnight.

Warm

15 mL milk

Rub over the milk to crumble

a pinch of saffron

Stir and let the saffron milk sit for 15-20 minutes.

Mix together in a bowl

the drained yogurt

the saffron mixture

5 g ground cardamom

Add a few spoonfuls at a time

375 g sugar

Blend thoroughly.

Refrigerate mixture for about an hour.

Serve cold and top with

sliced almonds and chopped salted pistachios

Anna Sultana's Kwarezimal - Almond Biscotti, Maltese Style

On Saturday I posted Carmela Soprano's Quaresimali.

I know, I have a hard time picturing Carmela making them, too.

It's not that they're hard to make.

But can you picture Tony and AJ sitting down to a plate of them?

Would Christopher bring a box of them to the guys hangin' at Satriale's?

No way.

Well, maybe during Lent.

Kwarezimal is a Maltese Lent basic item.

It is called a Lenten sweet in the Maltese cookbooks.

Our editors are a bit more honest.

Not like Carmela's.

Just saying...

                        

                        Kwarezimal

                       

grease a large cookie pan         

preheat oven to 350º        

bake 20 minutes

In a large mixer bowl, mix together

200 g flour

400 g ground almonds

200 g ground rice

400 g brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch of ground cloves

1 Tablespoon cocoa

1/2 orange rind, grated

1/2 lemon rind, grated

Add

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

water or milk to make a stiff paste

Divide the dough into 6 portions.

Shape each portion into a sausage shape

Flatten each portion, leaving each piece fairly thick

Place them, 2 inches apart, on the baking pan

Bake 20 minutes

Remove from oven and, Place them on a cutting board 

spread with 

honey

sprinkle with

chopped pistachio nuts

chopped roasted almonds

Cut into slices

Cool the cookies on a rack.

Store in an airtight container.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for the Italian Quaresimali.

When I was a kid in College Point, I was a bit of an oddity.  

My classmates were either Irish or German. 

One thing we had in common was that our mothers baked.

The other was that we were Catholics in a school run by Dominican nuns.

When we were in grade 3 we had to start following the Church's rules on fasting.

My German classmates brought Zwieback cookies to school.

I brought some of my aunt's Quaresimali.

We traded cookies.

The cookies were kind of the same. 

After that, things got a little better at school.

Maybe they figured I was kind of the same, too.

Do I make Kwarezimal?

No.

Like I said, I have a soft spot for the Italian Quaresimali.