Free Diet Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pints low or no fat ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon orange flower water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• to finish the cannoli:
• 12 four inch wonton wrappers
• spray oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped, toasted pistachio nuts
• cannoli tubes

Cooking Instructions:

• The night before place the ricotta in a yogurt strainer or cheesecloth or paper-towel lined strainer over a bowl. Drain overnight in the refrigerator. Discard the whey. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Lightly spray 12 cannoli tubes with spray oil. Starting with the corner of one wonton wrapper in the center, roll the wrapper around the tube. Glue the opposite corner to the tube with a dab of cornstarch paste. Lightly spray the outside of the cannoli with oil. Roll the remaining wrappers the same way.
• Bake the cannoli until golden brown and crisp, about 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then slide the pastry shells off the tubes onto a cake rack and let cool to room temperature. Brush with the melted butter.
• Prepare the filling. In a large bowl combine the drained ricotta, sugar, orange flower water, vanilla, and lemon zest and whisk to mix. Correct the sweetness, adding sugar or orange flower water to taste. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star tip. The recipe can be prepared several hours ahead to this stage.
• Just before serving, pipe the ricotta mixture into the pastry shells, adding filling from each end. As you withdraw the piping tube, make a rosette at each end. Sprinkle the ends with chopped pistachios and serve at once.

PS: This offbeat cannoli is faster to make than the traditional Italian dessert, because you don’t have to fuss with the dough. When you take a bite, it shatters into a thousand buttery flakes, just like the real McCoy. The secret? The pastry tubes are made with Chinese wonton wrappers, which are baked instead of fried.
Note: the recipe is quick and easy to make, but you must start the night before to drain the ricotta.
Serves 6

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 260
Fat: 3 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 gram
Sodium: 53 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates: 25 grams
Dietary Fiber: 0 grams
Protein: 15 grams
% calories from fat: 14%
% calories from saturated fat: 6%

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