Italian Custard Pie Food

ITALIAN RICE PIE

Steps:

• Beat eggs in very large bowl.
• Add sugar and mix well.
• Stir in cheese and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
• Add heavy cream and stir.
• Fold in cooled, cooked rice and then drained pineapple.
• Pour into a buttered 9-1/2 inch X 13-1/2 inch pain.
• Bake@325* oven for 1 hour.
• Check after 1 hour by inserting clean knife into center. Knife should come out clean and top should be golden brown.
• Refrigerate after throughly cooled.

CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Beat eggs well in a large bowl, then add milk, salt, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla.
• Cover a baking sheet with foil and place it on center shelf of preheated 450 degree (Fahrenheit) oven.
• Place 9 inch pie plate containing the uncooked pie shell on baking sheet and pour mixture into pie shell.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes more or until knife inserted comes out clean.

RICOTTA PIE (OLD ITALIAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Beat the 12 eggs, 2 cups sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese and the chocolate chips, if using (see Cook's Note). Set aside.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and 1 cup sugar together. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 4 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two deep-dish pie plates.
• Roll out 2 of the balls to fit into the pie pans. Do not make the crust too thick, as it will expand during cooking. Do not flute the edges of the dough. Roll out the other 2 balls of dough and cut each into 8 narrow strips for the top of the crust. (Alternately, you can use cookie cutters and place the cutouts on the top of the pies.)
• Pour the ricotta filling evenly into the pie crusts. Top each pie with 8 narrow strips of dough or cookie cut-outs. Brush top of pie with milk for shine, if desired. Place foil on the edge of crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes; remove foil. Rotate pies on the rack so they will bake evenly. Continue to bake until a knife inserted in the center of each pie comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more. Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate until serving.

CUSTARD CREAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Remove all Seeds from Vanilla Pod and set aside.
• Place half of the Milk into a pot along with the Lemon Zest and Vanilla Pod, and let it nearly boil for few minutes.
• Turn off the heat and let the Milk cool and absorb the aroma.
• Combine the Egg Yolks, Sugar and Vanilla Seeds into a bowl. Mix well.
• Beat the Starch into the Egg mix, and add a small portion of the Milk ( lukewarm ). Mix everything the best you can till you manage to break all the lumps.
• Remove the Lemon Zest from the Milk...

ITALIAN CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• First, make the custard. Whisk the egg yolks, 50g flour, milk, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring continuously with a spatula, for 10 minutes or until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir the chopped white chocolate into the hot custard and mix until it has melted and the custard is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Put the flour for the pastry in a mixing bowl, then add the butter and a pinch of salt and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre of the mixture, then put the sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest in it. Briefly mix everything together by hand to form a smooth dough, adding a little extra cold water if it feels too dry (try to avoid working the pastry for too long, as you'll melt the butter - no one wants greasy pastry). Wrap the dough in cling film, then put in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes (or see Make Ahead).
• When ready to bake, heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and grease a 23cm diameter fluted tart tin with butter. Divide the dough in half, then, on a floured surface, roll each piece into a 25cm disc using a rolling pin. Line the base and sides of the tin with one of the discs, pressing gently to fix it in place. Trim off any excess.
• Pour in the cold custard, then cover with the second pastry disc. Pinch the edges together with your fingers to seal the pie, trimming off excess pastry as necessary. Sprinkle over the pine nuts, then bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the pine nuts are well toasted.
• Remove the pie from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove from the tin, shave or grate over some white chocolate to decorate, then slice and serve. Recipe from https://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Romans-Do-Authentic-reinvented/dp/1784721387As the Romans Do: Authentic and reinvented recipes from the Eternal City by Eleonora Galasso

ITALIAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• 1. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle or scorch on the bottom. Add Lemon Peel if desired.
• 3. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat and remove lemon peel. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

ITALIAN RICE PIE (PASTIERA DI RISO)

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add eggs and pulse until just incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form into a thick log. Cut off 2/3 of the log and form into a large rectangle for the bottom of the pie. Form the remaining piece into a smaller rectangle for the top of the pie. Chill each, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Bring rice and well-salted water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well.
• Whisk together 3 yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl, then whisk in cornstarch and flour until smooth (mixture will be very thick). Bring milk just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, then gradually add hot milk to yolk mixture, whisking.
• Pour custard back into saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly (custard will become very thick), then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with wax paper, until cold, about 2 hours.
• Stir together ricotta, custard, and remaining 2 yolks, then stir in zests, cinnamon, salt, and cooked rice.
• Assemble and bake pie:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with an overlapping double layer of foil, leaving 2 inches of overhang on both ends, then generously butter foil.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 15- by 11-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). If dough becomes soft, chill or freeze until firm. Remove top sheet of wax paper and invert into baking pan, fitting it into pan. Chill shell. Roll out remaining piece of dough between sheets of wax paper in same manner. Cut 12 (3/4-inch-wide) crosswise strips (you will have a little dough left over).
• Spread filling in pan and arrange 6 strips, 1 1/4 inches apart, diagonally across filling, trimming ends to fit. Arrange remaining 6 strips, 1 1/4 inches apart, diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim lattice to fit in pan, then fold outside crust down over filling to make a border. Brush pastry with beaten egg.
• Bake pie until pastry is golden and filling is puffed and set, about 1 1/2 hours, loosely covering top of pie with foil after 50 minutes to prevent over-browning. Transfer to a rack to cool. When completely cool, lift pie out of pan using foil overhang and transfer to a platter.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined, 3 to 4 times. Add butter and egg; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 times. Sprinkle ice water over dough; pulse until dough begins to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half, and shape into 2 (4-inch) disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle position. Unwrap 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 16-inch circle, and carefully fit into a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Prepare the filling: Cook Italian sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, breaking up sausage with a spoon until crumbled and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Whisk ricotta, mozzarella, pepper, and 3 of the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in salami, capicola, and ham.
• Shingle prosciutto slices in bottom of prepared dough-lined pan. Spread ricotta mixture over prosciutto. Scatter browned sausage over ricotta mixture, pressing lightly into an even layer. Shingle red bell peppers over sausage; top with spinach and Parmesan.
• Roll remaining dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Carefully place over filling. Trim overhang so that it's even with bottom crust; pinch top and bottom crusts firmly together. Fold dough under and crimp edges.
• Lightly beat remaining egg and brush liberally over top of pie. Using a paring knife, cut 4 (1-inch) vents in top of dough in a circular pattern. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until a thermometer inserted in center of pie registers 150°F, about 30 more minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool at least 3 hours before serving. Carefully remove sides of pan, and cut pie into slices to serve. Or cool completely, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

TORTA DELLA NONNA (GRANDMA'S CUSTARD PIE)

Steps:

• To prepare custard pie , start with the shortcrust pastry: in a mixer, place the flour and the cold butter from the fridge cut into small pieces 1 , then turn on the mixer to obtain a sandy mixture: it will take a few moments. Transfer the sandy mixture to a pastry board, create a basin in the middle pour the sugar 2 , and add the eggs in the middle 3 .
• Grate the peel of 1 lemon (preferably untreated) 4 and mix the ingredients briefly, 5 just enough time to compact the shortbread and give it the shape of a loaf, flatten slightly and cover with plastic wrap 6 . Put the shortcrust pastry in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, make the custard: place the milk 7 in a small saucepan, peel 1 lemon with a vegetable peeler, ensuring not to peel the bitter white part 8 ; add the peel to the milk and heat it over low heat (it should almost boil) 9 .
• In a bowl, crack the 3 whole eggs and the yolk, pour the sugar 10 , then mix the ingredients. When the sugar is absorbed, add the flour and the corn starch sifted in a sieve 12 ; mix well.
• In the meantime, remove the lemon peel from the milk 13 and remove the pot from the heat to slightly dilute the eggs beaten with the sugar and dry ingredients with a little hot milk 14 . Mix well, then put the pot of milk back on the stove and pour in the mixture with the eggs 15 .
• Continue to cook slowly and stir the cream with a whisk, as it tends to thicken (16-17), it will take about 10-15 minutes. Once ready, move it to a low, wide baking dish 18
• and cover immediately with plastic wrap 19 . Let it cool to room temperature. In the meantime, take the shortcrust pastry, lightly flour the work surface and spread it out until it forms a disc 1/10 inch (2-3 millimeters) 20 thick (you can place the shortcrust pastry between two sheets of baking paper to roll it more easily). Butter and flour a 10-inch (26 cm) diameter pan; roll the shortcrust pastry on a rolling pin and unroll it on the pan 21 .
• Make the bottom and edges adhere by pressing with your fingers 22 and eliminate the excess doug h w hich you will use to make the top shell. Poke the bottom with the prongs of a fork and pour the custar d w hich will have cooled in the meantime 23 . Roll out the leftover shortcrust pastry and unroll the disc over the pan to cover it 24 .
• Using the rolling pin on the pan can help remove the excess edges (you can freeze the pastry that is left over and use it another time!) 25 ; poke the surface 26 then distribute the pine nuts 27 .
• The custard pie is ready to be baked! Cook in a static oven preheated to 320° F (160° C) for 50 minutes on the lower shelf; after, move it to the middle shelf of the oven and cook at 355° F (180° C) for 10 minutes. If you notice that the surface darkens too much while cooking, you can cover it with aluminum foil. Bake the pie 29 and let it cool completely before sprinkling it with powdered sugar, then serve as a delicious snack or dessert at the end of your lunch 30 !