Italy: Sfinci di San Guiseppe

Piero Bongiorno

Sfinci di San Guiseppe: Italy

A Sfinci is a special dessert in Italy that originated in Sicily due to a Saint named St. Joseph. St. Joseph is a key figure in Sicily because they believe he brought their crops back to life when their soil was poor and so every year on March 19^th they celebrate this special Saint. The Sfinci is only made once a year on this day and therefore it is a very special dessert for me and my family. My grandmother takes a full 2 days to produce this dessert and we gather all together as a family and enjoy this special bread. The sfinci is a delicious dessert that resembles a zepole but instead of just being plain bread, it is filled with ricotta cheese. It has a very smooth taste and the bread almost melts in your mouth when it’s freshly made and the warmness of the bread just gives a tinkle on your tongue and puts a smile on everyone’s face sitting around the table. Sfinci’s can also be filled with custard because some people may be allergic to ricotta cheese or just simply may not like it but they are both worth trying in my opinion. I chose this recipe because it brings back many memories in the past and it is another time of year where the family gets all together and enjoys my grandmothers cooking and this amazing dessert. Even though everyone is stuffed after a heavy meal, there is always a bit of space left over to add a Sfinci to your stomach at the end of the day. They sell these desserts at bakeries during the month of March and so this dessert has now travelled all over North America and Europe. If anyone of you ever get a chance to try a Sfinci Di San Guiseppe, take the opportunity because I can guarantee you will not be disappointed!

THE RECIPE

·         Ingredients

§  1 cup of water

§  ¼ cup of lard

§  A pinch of salt

§  1 ½ cups of flour, sifted

§  5 eggs

§  Vegetable oil (to fry)

§  1 pound of ricotta

§  1 ¼ cups of sugar

§  ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate

§  ½ cup of candied fruit

§  1 tablespoon of candied orange peel

§  2 tablespoons of pistachios, chopped

• Procedure

1.      First, put water, lard and salt in a saucepan and make it boil. Add the flour slowly while the heat is still on and stir. Blend it all together and then take it off the heat so the dough can cool off.

2.      Once the dough has cooled off, add eggs (one at a time) and beat well after every egg has been added. Beat until the dough is smooth and creamy.

3.      Cook the smooth and creamy dough in very hot oil (375 degrees). Cook a few at a time so that the oil doesn’t cool down. Cook until the sfinci are puffed and have a golden brown colour. Put the puffed sfinci on a paper towel to drain and cool off. Once cooled off, cut open with a knife.

4.      Ricotta filling

5.      Stir ricotta and sugar together. If the ricotta is too stiff, add a bit of milk.

6.      Once it’s nice and creamy, add the chocolate and the candied peel. Stuff the sfinci with this mixture and garnish with candied peel and chopped pistachios.

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