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1
Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or basket-type coffee filter.
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2
Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap.
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3
Drain the ricotta in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours.
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4
Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
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5
Pour the flour, granulated sugar, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.
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6
Add the oil, vinegar, and 1/3 cup wine.
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7
Process the dough, adding more red wine a few drops at a time if necessary, until you have a smooth, supple dough.
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8
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight.
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9
Beat the drained ricotta and 3/4 cup confectioners sugar in a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
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10
Fold in the chocolate, orange rind, and pistachios.
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11
Store in the refrigerator until needed.
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12
Roll half the dough out 1/16 inch thick (about the thickness of a dime) on a lightly floured surface.
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13
Cut the dough into 3-inch rounds, setting them on a lightly floured kitchen towel as you do.
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14
Repeat with the other half of the dough.
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15
Gather the scraps together and reroll them, cutting as many rounds as possible.
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16
You should have at least eighteen rounds.
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17
Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes before continuing, or the finished pastry layers will be tough.
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18
Pour enough of the vegetable oil into a large, heavy skillet to fill about 1/2 inch.
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19
Heat over medium heat until the oil appears rippling and an edge of one of the dough rounds gives off a slow sizzle when dipped in the oil.
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20
Carefully slide as many of the rounds into the oil as will fit without touching.
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21
Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes.
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22
The dough circles will bubble and take on an irregular shape as they fry; make sure the oil is deep enough to cook and brown all the surfaces of the dough as they fry.
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23
Adjust the heat during cooking to maintain a lively sizzle and to give the dough a chance to cook through to the center.
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24
Dont allow the oil to get too hot: the dough colors quickly and can burn before the center is sufficiently cooked.
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25
Transfer the cooked pastry rounds to paper towels to drain, and fry the remaining rounds, adding more oil to the pan and waiting for the oil to reheat as necessary.
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26
Cool the circles completely before continuing.
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27
Place a circle of the fried dough in the center of a serving plate and top with a rounded 2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling.
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28
Repeat with another dough circle and more filling, and top with a dough circle.
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29
Make five more stacked cannoli in the same way.
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30
Drizzle honey over each and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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31
Sprinkle some of the chopped toasted pistachios around the cannoli.
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32
To prepare classic, tube-shaped cannoli, you will need metal cannoli tubes about 1 inch in diameter, available in specialty cookware shops.
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33
Prepare the filling as described above.
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34
(The above amount will fill about eight traditional cannoli.)
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35
Prepare and roll out the dough as described above, and beat an additional egg with a few drops of water until foamy.
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36
Wrap one of the dough circles around a cannoli tube; you will see that the edges overlap.
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37
Lift the top edge and dab the lower edge with a few drops of the beaten egg.
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38
Press the two edges together to seal them tightly.
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39
Let the dough tubes stand a minute or two so the egg will dry.
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40
Repeat with the remaining dough and tubes.
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41
If you dont have enough cannoli tubes to accommodate all the dough circles, work in batches.
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42
Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep, heavy braising pan to fill 3 inches.
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43
Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350 F. Carefully slide a few of the shells and tubes into the hot oil.
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44
Fry, turning as necessary, until the shells are golden brown and blistered evenly on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes.
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45
Remove them carefully with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.
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46
As soon as the tubes are cool enough to handle, slide the shells off the tubes.
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47
Cool completely before filling.
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48
Fill the cannoli shells with a teaspoon just before serving, or they will become soggy.
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49
However, the fried shells can be stored at room temperature for several hours before filling.
