Pasta for Dessert
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Italy has a long tradition of serving sweetened pasta like the macaroni pie described above. Back in the Renaissance, pasta was a luxury food, reserved for special occasions and paired with other luxury foods like sugar and cinnamon.
Pictured here are confetti—sugar-coated spices, including lavender, cinnamon, and rosemary—which date to the Renaissance but are still served as after-dinner treats in Italy today. Today, throughout Italy, you’ll find traditional pasta desserts like Sweet Pistachio Couscous, as well as many modern creations, including Chocolate-Stuffed Shells and Pasta Truffles.
{ Conchiglioni dolci al cacao }
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SERVES 4 to 6 | REGION: Northern and central Italy
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Genius! Jumbo pasta shells coated in cocoa powder and filled with … well, anything! Vanilla custard, chocolate pudding, panna cotta, semifreddo, sorbet, granita, whipped cream and fresh berries, yogurt and honey, creamy peanut butter and jelly—there are endless possibilities.
Use just cocoa powder for unsweetened shells that become a gorgeous reddish brown color, or add confectioners’ sugar to the cocoa powder for lovely dark-colored sweet shells. I like them both ways! I pair the sweetened shells with less sugary fillings like fresh fruit or dark chocolate pudding.
24 jumbo shells, preferably Felicetti brand
Salt
¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (50 g) confectioners’ sugar, optional
FOR THE FILLING:
Approximately 2 cups (480 ml) total of gelato, custard, whipped cream, pudding, fruit, yogurt, etc.
Boil the shells in lightly salted water until they are al dente and drain.
For sweeter shells, put the cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar, to taste, into a sturdy plastic food-storage bag. Toss the shells, a few at a time, in the bag until they are fully coated with cocoa powder. For less sweet shells, toss them in just the cocoa powder.
Using a teaspoon, fill the shells with anything you like.
A few fun options:
• Ice cream + banana slices + dollop of fudge sauce + chopped nuts = mini sundae
• Ricotta + sugar + mini chocolate chips = soft cannoli
• Mascarpone cheese + sugar + drop of coffee = instant tiramisu
• Cream cheese + fruit jam + fresh fruit = Italian-style cheesecake
{ Cuscus dolce Siciliano al pistacchio }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Sicily, especially the province of Agrigento
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For centuries, the nuns at the Monastery of Santo Spirito in Agrigento, Sicily, have been selling a couscous dessert seasoned with pistachios. This unique treat, dense like rice pudding, has rich, deep pistachio flavor. It’s usually served topped with grated dark chocolate, plus dried or fresh fruit. I especially like adding pomegranate seeds for a pretty burst of ruby red and a tart tang.
Salt
1 cup (175 g) dry couscous
½ cup (60 g) shelled pistachios
¼ cup (40 g) blanched whole almonds
Ground cinnamon
4 to 6 tablespoons (50 to 70 g) sugar
2 ounces (60 g) dark chocolate, grated, preferably Perugina brand
Optional toppings: chopped candied Sicilian squash (zuccata candita), dried fruit, pomegranate seeds or other fresh fruit
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water and a pinch of salt to a boil, then stir in the couscous and remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in a small food processor or clean coffee grinder, finely grind the pistachios and almonds until powderlike. Add the nuts and a pinch of cinnamon to the couscous and stir until well combined. Sweeten to taste with sugar. Serve the couscous topped with the chocolate and any of the other suggested toppings.
{ Cioccolatini di fregula }
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MAKES about 24 truffles | REGION: Sardinia
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Fregula, tiny Sardinian pasta, are cooked here in sweetened water, then mixed with melted chocolate and shaped into truffles. They are pleasingly chewy and ridiculously simple to make!
Make them with dark, milk, or white chocolate, or try gianduia: dark chocolate blended with smooth hazelnut butter. It’s Italy’s most popular chocolate flavor and is available online or in Italian food shops. Gianduia is delicious, and well worth seeking out (see Sources).
Salt
½ cup (55 g) fregula pasta
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
4 ounces (115 g) gianduia, dark, white, or milk chocolate, chopped, preferably Perugina brand
Bring a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the fregula and sugar. Cook until the fregula are very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the chocolate and cook over low heat until the chocolate begins to melt. Take the pot off the heat and stir until the chocolate is melted and well combined.
Let the mixture cool enough to touch, then scoop and roll it into little hazelnut-sized balls. Put them onto wax paper and refrigerate until set. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.
{ Nidi di tagliatelle per Carnevale }
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SERVES 6 | REGION: Tuscany, Sicily, and Emilia-Romagna
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These nests are little bundles of fried pasta popular throughout Italy as a dessert during Carnevale. But they’re so quick and easy to make, you can enjoy them anytime.
No boiling needed—just clump a few noodles into a little nest shape, fry, then enjoy. Since the noodles aren’t boiled first, it is important that you use only fresh egg pasta, not dried pasta.
You can season the crunchy bundles Sicilian-style, topped with orange zest–infused warm honey and sprinkled with pistachios; or, as they do in Tuscany, using chocolate noodles, drizzled with brandy-infused warm honey and topped with toasted almonds. Of course, there’s also the simple Emilia-Romagna style—just topped with confectioners’ sugar.
Fritti sono buoni anche gli zampi delle sedie.
Fried, even chair legs are delicious.
Vegetable oil for frying
12 ounces (340 g) fresh egg tagliatelle, either plain or chocolate flavored
TOPPING SUGGESTIONS:
Approximately ⅓ cup (75 ml) warm honey + orange zest + chopped pistachios + candied orange peel; or
Approximately ⅓ cup (75 ml) warm honey + approximately 2 tablespoons brandy or almond liqueur + chopped almonds; or
Approximately ¼ cup (20 g) confectioners’ sugar + ground cinnamon or cocoa powder
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat 1 inch (2.5 cm) of oil. Take a few strands of uncooked tagliatelle and loosely twirl them into a nest shape. Fry the nests until they are very light golden on both sides. Drain them on paper towels. Arrange the nests on a platter and serve them drizzled with honey or sprinked with confectioners’ sugar, and topped to taste with any of the suggested toppings. Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store them in a cool dry place for up to 1 week.
{ Pistum }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Friuli
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Sweet gnocchi seasoned with chocolate, nuts, fruit, fragrant cinnamon, as well as hints of cheese, fennel, thyme, mint, and marjoram—this dish has been a Christmastime favorite in northern Italy for centuries. Served warm in a bowl, it makes a delightfully different dessert, perfect on a chilly winter evening.
Pistum, or in Veneto dialect pastum, is a term meaning a mix of many ingredients. It has a magic-potion connotation and dates back centuries. Homemakers in the past jealously guarded their secret recipes, passing them down mother to daughter through the generations.
I learned this recipe from Palma, one of the delightful Cesarine princesses, who are members of Home Food Italy, an amazing organization of Italian foodies who host dinners in their homes to share the joys of their region’s traditional cuisine. They offer a rare opportunity for us American travelers to meet locals, eat at an Italian’s home, and enjoy Italian hospitality.
2 heaping tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons rum
4 tablespoons (60 g) butter
⅓ cup (30 g) assorted minced fresh aromatic herbs including thyme, marjoram, and mint
⅓ cup (65 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces (115 g) dark or milk chocolate, preferably Perugina brand, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
⅓ cup (40 g) grated grana padano, Parmesan, or other aged cheese
¼ cup (35 g) toasted pine nuts or assorted chopped toasted nuts
2 heaping tablespoons finely minced candied citron or lemon peel
Zest of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup (84 g) homemade breadcrumbs, toasted
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose or “0” flour
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
Confectioners’ sugar
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum until moist.
In a small pan, melt the butter with the herbs and simmer for a few minutes until they are aromatic. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until light yellow, then stir in the butter-herb mixture, the chocolate, cheese, pine nuts, candied peel, zest, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and the raisins with their liquid. Mix until well combined, then mix in the breadcrumbs. Mix in the flour, a little at a time, until a dough forms; you may have a little flour left over.
Knead the dough until it is uniform and well mixed. Divide it into four pieces. Roll out each piece into a ropelike cylinder about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut the rope every 1 ½ inches (4 cm) to form small nuggets. Press each nugget lightly onto the tines of a fork to make slight indentations. Repeat the process for the rest the dough, setting out the finished gnocchi on a clean cotton cloth in a single layer.
Bring a wide pan of water with a pinch of salt and the fennel seeds to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook until they are tender and float to the surface, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to a bowl and serve them warm, topped with grated chocolate and confectioners’ sugar.
{ Mezzi maniche dolci }
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SERVES 4 to 6 | REGION: Abruzzo
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All the flavor of cannoli, but with a pasta shell instead! Mezzi maniche, little pasta tubes, are boiled until al dente, then fried to create a crunchy, tasty container for the creamy sweet ricotta filling. They are a perfect pop-in-your-mouth, one-bite size. I first tasted this amazing dessert in Abruzzo while having dinner with the wonderful Peduzzi family, makers of Rustichella d’Abruzzo pasta.
Try this recipe once and, as it has for me, it’ll become one of your go-to desserts. There are lots of ways to vary it. One of my favorite variations is to fill the fried pasta with mascarpone cheese sweetened with sugar and dust it with instant coffee granules and cocoa powder, for a riff on tiramisu.
1 cup (250 g) ricotta
2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 tablespoon finely chopped dark chocolate, preferably Perugina brand, or mini chocolate chips
1 tablespoon minced candied orange peel
Pinch ground cinnamon
4 ounces (115 g) mezzi maniche, mezzi rigatoni, or other short tube pasta
Salt
Vegetable oil
Optional garnishes: chopped pistachios, chopped candied cherries or orange peel, cocoa powder, or chopped chocolate
In a bowl, using a fork, mix the ricotta, sugar, chocolate, candied peel, and cinnamon until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is very tender, about 1 minute longer than al dente. Drain the pasta well.
Meanwhile, in a very small saucepan, heat about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of oil until very hot, but not smoking. Add half of the pasta and fry until it is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon and drain it on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining pasta.
When the pasta has cooled to room temperature, roll it in sugar, then fill each tube with the ricotta mixture, either using an espresso spoon or by piping it in with a pastry bag. Garnish, if you like, with the suggested toppings. Serve at room temperature.
{ Torta di tagliatelle }
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SERVES 6 | REGION: Lombardy, especially the province of Mantua
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Fresh thin egg noodles tossed with sugar, almonds, and butter and baked in a free-form pile until crisp—this pasta dessert is one of the most famous and popular sweets of Mantua.
Some Italians bake the pasta in a pie crust, but I prefer to follow the advice of locals from Mantua, who believe that a crust just makes for extra work and hides the beauty of this unusual, pretty dessert. You must use fresh, not dried, pasta for this recipe.
12 tablespoons (170 g) butter
2 cups (320 g) blanched whole almonds
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
12 ounces (340 g) fresh egg tagliatelle or other very thin egg noodles
¼ cup (60 ml) almond liqueur, like Disaronno amaretto
Confectioners’ sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper and butter it.
In a food processor, grind the almonds and granulated sugar until the mixture resembles coarse sand, then put it into a large bowl with the uncooked tagliatelle. Using your hands, gently toss to coat the pasta with the sugar mixture.
Loosely scatter about one third of the tagliatelle onto the prepared pan in a roughly 12-inch (30.5-cm) round. Scatter the top with 4 tablespoons of the butter, thinly sliced. Repeat for another two layers. Sprinkle the top with the liqueur.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden. Serve at room temperature, generously dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
{ Calcionetti teramani }
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MAKES about 4 dozen | REGION: Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania
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Chickpeas for dessert? Yes, you read that right. These uniquely satisfying dessert ravioli, served like cookies, are filled with pureed chickpeas, which create a lovely velvety canvas for the rich chocolate, espresso, and rum. This classic dessert of Abruzzo and southern Italy is traditionally fried, but nowadays for a lighter treat home cooks often bake them instead. They are delicious both ways!
FOR THE FILLING:
1 ½ cups (245 g) mashed cooked chickpeas
2 ounces (60 g) finely chopped dark chocolate, preferably Perugina brand
¼ cup (30 g) finely ground blanched almonds
3 tablespoons rum
3 tablespoons freshly brewed strong coffee or espresso
3 tablespoons honey
2 heaping tablespoons minced candied citron or lemon peel
Zest of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for garnish
Pinch ground cinnamon
Make the filling: In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until smooth and well combined, then adjust the flavors to taste, adding more of whatever you like. Set aside.
FOR THE DOUGH:
About 3 ½ cups (445 g) all-purpose or “0” flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
Olive oil
1 large egg yolk
Vegetable oil for frying, or 1 egg white for baking
Make the dough: Sift the flour and sugar onto a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Put the wine, 3 tablespoons oil, and the yolk into the well and slowly incorporate the flour. Add about ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water a little at a time, until a dough forms. Knead the dough until it is very smooth. Form it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
To assemble: Using about a quarter of the dough at a time so it doesn’t dry out and keeping the rest covered, roll the dough into sheets about 1/16-inch (2-mm) thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 3 ½-inch (9-cm) circles of dough. Drop a heaping tablespoonful of the filling in the center of each circle, fold the circles over to create half moons, and pinch the edges closed. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough and filling.
In a large, deep pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the ravioli and fry, turning them once, until they are just lightly golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain them on paper towels. Alternatively, bake the ravioli by brushing the tops with egg white, placing them on parchment-lined baking sheets, and baking in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 25 minutes, until they are lightly golden.
Eat the ravioli warm or at room temperature, topped with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.
