Iris Palermitane
Iris Palermitane or Baked Sicilian Iris are delicious Sicilian pastries filled with ricotta and chocolate chips.
Typical of the Palermitan tradition, in particular, these pastries of leavened dough crowd the windows of every pastry shop and rotisserie cafes in the area, and resisting a taste of them is practically impossible. In this version, in spite of the originals, they don't have the external breading and are cooked in the oven instead of fried in hot oil. Inside they welcome a delicate cream made from cow's milk ricotta (which you can replace with sheep's milk ricotta for a more authentic flavour), sugar and chocolate chips. A simple delicacy to make and also light, ideal to be enjoyed in the morning, as a delicious breakfast to combine with a cappuccino or a coffee granita, or to be served at the end of a meal on the occasion of a Sunday lunch with the family.
Baked iris recipe
- For the ricotta cream
Put the sheep's ricotta to drain in a colander and place it in the refrigerator until it has lost its whey, then sift it, mix it well in a bowl together with the sugar and vanilla and add the chocolate chips.
- For the baked iris dough
Mix the sifted flour, sugar and the brewer's yeast in a bowl and mix, pouring in the water a little at a time until you get a soft and homogeneous dough. Then add the salt and lard (at room temperature) and continue to work vigorously, possibly adding a drop of water. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for a couple of hours.
- Baked iris cooking time
Roll out the iris dough and cut 12 disks 1 cm thick and approximately 6 cm in diameter.
Distribute the ricotta cream on six of the disks, cover these with the remaining disks, seal by folding the edges downwards and inward and leave to rise for another 45-60 minutes at room temperature.
After this time, brush the surface of the irises with a beaten egg and cook them in a preheated oven at 400F until golden brown (8-10 minutes). Remove the irises from the oven and let them cool before sprinkling them with plenty of powdered sugar.
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Find out how to prepare them by following my recipe step by step!
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[instagram-feed feed=1]Baked iris is a typical dessert of Palermo made of a casket of soft brioche dough that holds a refined heart of ricotta cream and chocolate chips. Baked iris is just the, so to speak, "light" version of fried iris created in 1901 by the Palermo pastry chef Antonio Lo Verso in honor of the first staging of Pietro Mascagni's opera "Iris" at the Teatro Massimo . Together with its ancestor, the baked iris occupies an important place in the rich assortment of Palermo pastries and is the favorite dessert of many Palermitans who find themselves having breakfast or a snack away from hom
- 500 g High gluten flour or bread flour (link in description)
- 275 g water (room temperature)
- 6 g dry yeast
- 50 g sugar
- 50 g lard
- 10 g salt
- 600 g fresh sheep ricotta
- 300 g sugar
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Put the sheep's ricotta to drain in a colander and place it in the refrigerator until it has lost its whey, then sift it, mix it well in a bowl together with the sugar and add the chocolate chips.
Mix the sifted flour, sugar and the brewer's yeast in a stand mixer bowl and mix, pouring in the water a little at a time until you get a soft and homogeneous dough.
Then add the salt and lard (at room temperature) and continue to work vigorously, possibly adding a drop of water. Cover the dough with a cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours.
Roll out the iris dough and cut 10 disks 1 cm thick and approximately 6 cm in diameter.
Distribute the ricotta cream on six of the disks, cover these with the remaining disks, seal by folding the edges downwards and inward.
Leave to rise for another 45-60 minutes in a turn off oven with a light on.
Brush your iris with a beaten egg.
Bake at 400F for 10/15 minutes.
Stuff your iris with more ricotta cream.
Dust some powdered sugar on top to finish.
Enjoy!
Baked iris can be kept at room temperature for a maximum of 1 day, in the refrigerator, closed in a special container with an airtight seal, for 2-3 days. At the time of consumption, heat them for a few minutes in the oven.
Tips
If you don't want to use lard, you can replace it with butter.
For an impeccable final result, choose a rather dry ricotta and leave it to drain in a colander for at least half an hour: in this way it will lose all the excess liquid and the filling will be soft but compact. You can use cow's milk ricotta for a more delicate flavour, sheep's ricotta for a more decisive and authentic flavour.
You can also flavor your filling with vanilla seeds, a pinch of ground cinnamon or some orange or candied peel; in addition to the chocolate drops, or in place of these, you can add a grain of dried fruit or a few spoonfuls of pistachio paste or hazelnut cream.
For a lighter version, you can cook your irises in the oven, as indicated in the recipe; alternatively, you can fry them in boiling seed oil (about 160 °C), until golden brown. You can also prepare them in advance and then freeze them in the freezer: when needed, you just have to take them out and cook them as you prefer.
