Necci with ricotta – Tuscan chestnut pancakes

Put the ricotta in a bowl and mix with all the sugar, working it with a spoon into a soft cream. Use ready made, thick ricotta without visible free whey, without any additional draining. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you fill the pancakes. There is enough filling for eight similar portions.

Sift the chestnut flour into another bowl and add all the salt. Gradually pour in all the weighed water, whisking until there are no lumps. The batter should be smooth and pourable, a little thicker than batter for very thin crepes. Cover and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature so the flour can absorb the water. Stir thoroughly again before cooking.

Prepare a nonstick skillet 22–24 cm across, a wide spatula and a plate for filling the pancakes. Weigh all the olive oil into a small bowl. Use a silicone pastry brush to coat the skillet very thinly before each pancake, dividing this amount among all eight. Heat the skillet over medium low heat.

Brush the hot skillet thinly with some of the olive oil. Stir the batter and scoop up about one eighth, roughly 80 g. Pour it into the center and immediately tilt the skillet to spread it into a pancake about 18–20 cm across. Cook for 2–3 minutes over medium low heat, until the surface is no longer liquid, the edges start to loosen and the bottom browns in places.

Slide a wide spatula under the pancake and carefully turn it over. Cook for about another 2–3 minutes, until the batter is set and brown spots appear. The pancake should stay flexible enough to roll. If it darkens quickly or becomes stiff, reduce the heat. Transfer the cooked neccio to a plate.

Spread about one eighth of the ricotta filling, roughly 48 g, in a strip across the warm pancake. Roll loosely, enclosing the filling. Fill each neccio as soon as it is cooked, before it cools and stiffens. You can roll the previous pancake while the next one cooks on its first side.

Prepare the remaining necci in the same way, stirring the batter each time and brushing the skillet thinly with another portion of the measured olive oil. Divide all the batter and all the filling among eight pancakes. Keep the remaining filling covered in the refrigerator and take out portions as needed. Cooking all eight usually takes about 40 minutes, depending on the skillet and burner.

Serve the freshly rolled necci while still warm, two per portion. It is easiest to serve them in batches as you cook, keeping the filling cool and the pancakes soft. The four portions include all eight rolls with the prepared filling.