Cannoli with Pistachio Ice Cream
Pistachio paste: Start by peeling the pistachios, making sure you only get the delicious kernels. Using a chopper or a grinder, grind the pistachios to a fine powder, but not so fine that it becomes a paste. We mix this pistachio powder with almond powder, which adds a subtle flavor and a nice texture. In a kettle, bring water and sugar to the boil, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches boiling point. Once we have a sugar syrup, we pour this syrup over the pistachio and almond mixture, adding a few drops of almond essence for extra flavor. Mix thoroughly and then add a teaspoon or two of cold water, kneading by hand until you have a homogeneous dough that resembles a soft dough. Once the dough has cooled, divide it into three portions, place them in bags and freeze for later use.
Ice cream: When we want to make ice cream, we start by dissolving the pistachio paste in the milk that we have put on to heat. When the milk begins to boil, we take the pot off the heat and add a little almond essence, powdered sugar and the cleaned pistachios, cut into large pieces, to provide texture. Allow the mixture to cool, and to speed up the process, you can place the bowl in a bowl of cold water. While the milk is cooling, separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the toasted sugar, being careful not to overbeat to avoid the risk of the mixture turning brown. Add the warm milk over the egg yolks and mix well. Next, place the mixture in a bain-marie, stirring constantly, until the water in the saucepan begins to boil, which indicates that the cream is thickening. When the cream is ready, transfer it immediately to another bowl to avoid curdling. Whip the cream for the whipping cream and incorporate it into the completely cooled cream. Pour the mixture into a bowl and place in the freezer. After about two hours, we stir the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming, repeating the process for a further four hours to achieve a creamy texture.
Cannoli: To prepare the cannoli, mix the flour with the sugar, butter, whole egg and a wine in which we have dissolved a teaspoon of cocoa, using a fork. We obtain a slightly sticky and elastic dough, which we cover and leave to rest in the refrigerator for about an hour. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface into a very thin sheet of a few millimeters. Using a knife or a cutting wheel, cut out squares of about 10 cm and roll them out into rolls. Fry the rolls in hot oil for a few minutes until golden brown. Once cooled, remove the rolls and fill them with the ice cream prepared earlier, sprinkling powdered sugar on top. Serve these delicious treats immediately, enjoying the perfect combination of creamy ice cream and crunchy cannoli crust.
Ingredients: For the pistachio paste, from which we can make 3 servings of ice cream: 200 g unsalted pistachios (with shells) 100 g granulated sugar 25 g almond powder (3 - 4 tablespoons) 30 ml water almond flavor For the ice cream that will fit in an 800g container: 80 g pistachio paste (1/3 of the above amount) 50 g pistachios (with shells) 6 egg yolks 50 g granulated sugar 25 g powdered sugar 500 ml milk 100 ml liquid cream almond flavor For 12 - 14 cannoli: 200 g flour 1 teaspoon cocoa 30 g butter 1 egg 25 g sugar 70 ml red wine
