This recipe for Pastiera Napoletana is a traditional Italian Easter dessert. It's a citrus scented pie made with a ricotta and wheat berry filling, encased in a short crust pastry.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Pastiera Napoletana Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
chilling time 30 minutes, Baking time 60 minutes 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Servings 10
Calories 471kcal
Author Marisa
Equipment
25 centimetre round tart tin with removable bottom
Ingredients
FOR THE PASTA FROLLA
3cupsall purpose flour
1cuppowdered sugaricing sugar
a pinch of saltI use fine sea salt
3/4cupcubed cold butter
3large eggs. lightly beaten
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1tablespoonorange zest
FOR THE FILLING
560 gramjar of Grano Cotto, cooked wheat
1cupwhole milk
A vanilla beansplit open
1tablespoonlemon zest
400gramsof full fat ricotta cheese
2whole eggs plus 2 eggs separated
1cuppowdered sugaricing sugar
1 1/2tablespoonsorange blossom water
1tablespoon each of orange and lemon zest
Instructions
FOR THE PASTA FROLLA
Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to combine.
Add the cubed butter and mix till coarse crumbs form.
Mix in the lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest until it forms a smooth ball. (takes less than a minute).
Wrap the dough in cling wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
WHEAT BERRY MIXTURE
Meanwhile spoon the jar of the cooked wheat in a medium sized stock pot.
Add in the milk, vanilla bean and lemon zest.
Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes or until the mixture thickens and has absorbed most of the liquids.
Stir frequently making sure to keep an eye on it so the wheat berries do not stick to the pot and burn.
Scrap out the any remaining seeds from the vanilla bean. Stir them back into the cooked wheat mixture and set aside to cool.
ROLLING OUT THE SHORT CRUST PASTRY DOUGH
While the mixture cools, grease a 25cm round tart tin with a removable bottom and set aside. (I used a 25cm (10 inch) deep quiche pan with removable bottom however any 10 inch pie dish would also work).
Cut a quarter of the dough off, reserving it for the lattice top.
Roll out the remaining dough to about 1/8 inch thick and line the tart tin with the rolled dough.
Trim off any excess dough with a knife.
PREPARING THE RICOTTA FILLING
In a medium sized bowl mix together the ricotta, the 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks until light and fluffy.
Mix in the powdered sugar (icing sugar), orange blossom water, orange and lemon zests until combined.
Stir in the cooled wheat mixture.
In a separate bowl beat the two remaining egg whites just until stiff peaks form and then softly fold them into the ricotta mixture.
Pour the ricotta mixture into the prepared pie.
Roll out the remaining pastry dough and cut out 9 strips of dough slightly longer than the pie tin. (about 1 inch wide)
Place the strips of dough over the filling in a criss-cross pattern and trim off any excess.
Brush the strips of dough with milk and bake the pie in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 60 minutes or until a lovely golden brown.
Allow the ricotta pie to cool completely before refrigerating then dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
This ricotta pie actually tastes better the day after it's baked making it a great make ahead dessert.
Notes
If you can't find store bought "grano cotto," cooked wheat you can replace it with 3/4 cup of dry wheat berries. However you'll need to cook them yourself before proceeding with the recipe.Follow package direction for soaking and then cooking the wheat berries or follow the instructions below:Rinse the wheat berries well and place them in a small bowl with enough water to cover.Allow to soak overnight or up to 24 hours before you plan to bake the ricotta pie as this will allow for quicker cooking time.THE FOLLOWING DAY:Rinse and drain the wheat berries and place them in a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 1 hour or until tender.Drain any remaining liquids and set aside while you prepare the pasta frolla.Then simply continue with the recipe at the "Preparing Ricotta Filling" heading.