Things I’ve Never Made Before ep02: Sfogliatelle
My first batch! Not perfect, but a decent try.
Sfogliatelle have a history shrouded in legend, with roots in a convent on the Amalfi Coast. As with lots of delicious dishes around the world, it is said a nun was trying to make the most of leftovers, and created the milk-soaked semolina and ricotta filling quite by accident. In a fit of sudden creative inspiration (at least, in my favourite version of the story), she put the sweetened filling between laminated (lard-covered) sugary douggh, and moulded into a shape of a monk’s hood.
You would think that something so delicious wouldn’t be kept low key for very long, but apparently it took another 200 years to travel into the tastebuds of a savvy innkeeper who brought it back to his tavern to sell. And today, sfogliatelle are enjoyed everywhere, as a wonderful Neapolitan icon.
This dish is the reason I started my ‘Things I’ve Never Made Before’ series… and it was a true labour of love. I made it into a weekend project, but you could easily do this all in one day (or prep components and split it up, like I did!). Don’t be fooled - simple, unassuming ingredients, but absolutely not easy or fuss-free. These take care and attention, and a little bit of practice.
My first ever run didn’t go perfectly, but I was pretty delighted with the crunchy, flaky layers and the creamy, sweet filling, so I’ll be making this more in the future and mixing up the fillings!
This recipe contains notes and comments from what I learned doing this for the first time. I would recommend reading this through from start to finish, watching the video a few times to learn from my mistakes before giving this a go. Do it - the rewards are incredible.
RECIPE
Special equipment: Pasta machine or roller attachment
Makes 20-24 medium sized pastries
Pastry
500g plain flour
50g sugar
6g salt
200g water
100g unsalted butter, softened (traditionally lard)
Filling
125g water
125g milk
100g caster sugar
100g semolina
450g full fat ricotta
2 large egg yolks
zest of 1 orange
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
75g candied orange peel, finely diced
Icing sugar, for finishing
METHOD
Mix the flour, sugar, salt and water in a bowl and mix with your hands to form a stiff dough. Knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth, then cut into 4 pieces, wrap with plastic wrap and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. (I left mine overnight!)
Once rested, take one of the pieces and roll it through a pasta machine on the widest setting. Fold it in half, and run it through the machine again. Dust with a little flour to prevent sticking, and repeat four times until smooth. Start rolling the dough out at progressively narrower settings until you get to the thinnest setting, running the dough through each setting twice (setting 9, setting 9, setting 8, setting 8, etc.)
Lay the rolled out sheets on a flat surface. Use your fingers and spread your very soft butter in a thin layer on each.
Roll the sheet up from one of the short edges, using your fingers to gently but firmly stretch it wider so it is almost see through. Roll tightly so you form a cigar.
Continue rolling each piece of dough in the above way, spreading butter, and layering on top of the cigar shape you’ve created so it gets thicker. Once you have finished rolling out all of your dough, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I kept mine in the fridge overnight).
While the dough chills, make the filling. Bring the water, milk and sugar up to a simmer over medium heat in a pot, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, then whisk in the semolina. Keep whisking for about 2 minutes until it thickens up. Then transfer to a large bowl and add the ricotta. Whisk until smooth, then add the egg yolks, orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk to combine into a smooth paste, then fold in the candied orange peel. Store in an airtight container and chill until ready to assemble.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Cut the chilled pastry into 1/2 cm slices with a serrated knife (it should be cool to the touch, but soft enough for you ro handle. If you left your dough in the fridge overnight like I did, bring it out to room temp about 20-30 mins before you’re ready to shape). Have some soft butter to hand, so you can use your fingers to rub extra butter into each of the cut sides of the pastry. Push out the centre of the spiral, using your fingers to spread the pastry out, separate the layers, and form a little shell-shaped pouch with a “point”. (Mine were not very pointy, and much wider, so I’ll have to keep practising!) Scoop about 1 generous tsp of the ricotta mixture into the centre, filling to the top, then gently pinch the edges shut. Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 25–30 minutes, until crisp and golden.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, then dust generously with icing sugar before serving.
Best enjoyed immediately while the pastry is crisp, golden and utterly delicious.
