Sunday, January 08, 2017

Weekend Cooking: In Search of Sfogliatelle

For all that I talked a couple of days ago about starting to eat healthily and try to lose some weight (again), today I am posting about sfogliatelle - ricotta filled pastry shells - that originate from the south of Italy.

I don't remember hearing about sfogliatelle before a couple of months ago, but I have been watching a number of cooking series about baking and/or Italian cooking and it has come up a few times. I know I saw it in Paul Hollywood's City Bakes series, and I think one of Rick Stein's series. Actually, Rick Stein is to blame for a couple of cravings at the moment. The other day I was watching a show where he does a long weekend in Vienna and it showed wiener schnitzel and oh my goodness I have been thinking abut that ever since. Maybe I need to stop watching these shows, but I do like living vicariously through them.

Anyway, back to sfogliatelle.

Now, I am determined that I want, no, make that NEED to try one of these Italian treats. Luckily for me there is a famous Melbourne cake shop called Brunetti's that makes them so it was always just a question of time before I would actually try one. And try one I did. Actually, technically, I think I tried two and something very similar that I can't remember the name of.  Did I like them? I was surprised that they were pretty small. In theory, you could probably shove a whole one in your mouth, but I was a bit more ladylike and ate them in two bites. The crunch on the pasty was a-maz-ing, and the filling was very nice. Having said that, the one that I can't remember the name of was probably a bit more to my taste. All the delicious crunch but instead of being filled with ricotta it was topped with a custard like blob and a piece of cherry. I would be happy to eat either one of them again though. Maybe next time I go to Brunettis!

Would I try to make some? One hundred percent, absolutely not. These things take some serious skills to make as you can tell from the video below and given that I've never made pastry, there's no way I will try to make them. I will, however, continue to try them when I get the opportunity.

Do you have something that you really want to try?


  



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

10 comments:

  1. Oh yeah, I can see me making these on a daily basis. HAAAA. I think I'll need to just buy them -- now where to find such beauties in my small town? I may have to wait for a trip to a big city.

    Of course, my mind is a blank now when it come to thinking about something I might want to try. It's filled with the thought of that lemon-scented ricotta filled, flaky pastry.

    Happy new year, my friend. Always happy to hear from you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may have to make another trip to get some more of these!

      Happy New Year!

      Delete
  2. Cooking shows are really not very good for dieters!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know. You can dream about eating the food without actually eating anything which is both good and bad I think.

      Delete
  3. You can still eat healthy and enjoy a treat-or do like my aunt-sweets only on Sunday. I love cannoli so I am sure I would enjoy these. Like you I have never heard of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True. Only show restraint 6 days a week should be doable right?

      Delete
  4. After a very VERY lengthy stuffed cabbage-roll experiment, I made an executive decision that I am done with trying to make stuffed things. Empanadas. Stuffed cabbage rolls. Natchitoches meat pies. These are things that are very delicious but they are just better for me not to spend time, energy, and money on. I affirm your discernment in not trying to make these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's good to recognise your own limitations! lol

      Delete
  5. I would like to try freshly a freshly picked black diamond truffle, shaved into a nice little omelet. Those pastries would be good too.

    ReplyDelete

TEMPLATE CREATED BY PRETTYWILDTHINGS