Strawberry Cannoli Tart
Photo Credit : Styled and Photographed by Liz NeilyPhoto Credit : Styled and Photographed by Liz Neily
Strawberry season is upon us. Good-bye spongy, underripe berries from afar; hello juicy, local fruit! Everything about this time of year—from its brevity to the delicate perishability of the berries themselves—is a call to savor the moment. It’s nature at its most fleeting.
The harvest usually kicks into gear in early June, but this varies by latitude and according to the weather. Everything wraps up in a matter of weeks, though some farmers are now growing “day-neutral” varieties, which can produce well into September. As anyone who went apple picking last fall can attest, pick-your-own farms are among the most popular open-air destinations around (we spotted families tailgating in the parking lot of one farm), so do call ahead.
Berries in hand, head to the kitchen to make this delightful tart inspired by the classic Italian cannoli. The filling begins with ricotta, which is scented with vanilla and orange zest, fluffed with whipped cream, and set with gelatin. The crust is a simple press-in dough that tastes like sugar cookies but crunches like a cannoli shell. Be sure to budget at least an hour for the filling to set—this is a make-ahead dessert, and well worth the wait.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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