Mommas Italian Pastierra Or Holiday Pie Food

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA RECIPE

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

PASTIERA (ITALIAN EASTER TART)

Steps:

• Combine cooked wheat berries, milk, butter, and zest of 1 lemon in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until creamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 11-inch springform pan or aluminum pan and line with one of the pastry crusts.
• Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon orange flower water, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor; mix until smooth. Mix in remaining lemon zest and orange peel. Fold in wheat berry mixture and pour over the bottom crust.
• Roll out remaining pastry crust and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips. Place on top of the pie in a lattice pattern and brush with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is cooked through and top is lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for about 30 minutes.
• Remove pie carefully from the pan and place on a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• Soak 100 g (3½ oz) farro or wheat grains (berries) in plenty of cold water, changing the water daily, for three days.
• For the pastry, put the flour, icing sugar, salt, orange zest and butter in a food processor and blitz to a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolks to the mixer and blend again briefly, until the mixture comes together as a dough (add a tablespoon or two of iced water if the dough is still dry and does not come together). Form the dough into two equal rounds with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge or freezer, depending on when you want to use it. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before you roll it.
• Grease a deep 23 cm (9 in) cake tin/crostata tin with butter, then dust it lightly with flour. After the dough has rested, roll it out to a rough 2 mm (1/16 in) thickness and line the cake tin, pushing the dough up the sides of the tin to create a 5-7.5 cm (2-3 in) depth and trimming any overhang. Don't worry too much about perfectly thin, even pastry. Reserve the pastry trimmings for the lattice top. Chill the pastry case in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Remove the pastry case from the fridge and blind-bake until just golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.
• For the farro or wheat berries, on the third day of soaking, drain the soaked grain. Cook in a saucepan with the milk, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt over a very low heat, covered with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until the grain is plump and tender and all the milk had been absorbed. Spread the grain out on a plate to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
• For the rest of the filling, whisk or beat the ricotta in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the orange zest, candied fruit, sugar, orange blossom water, vanilla and salt. Into this mixture, stir the cooled cooked wheat. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them gently into the ricotta mixture.
• Pour the whole lot into the prepared pastry case. Cut the leftover pastry dough into strips about 2 cm (¾ in) wide, and arrange them over the top in a diagonal lattice. Use your fingers to press the edges of each strip into the pastry case walls to seal them.
• Brush the top of the tart with the beaten egg and bake for 90 minutes, or until biscuit brown all over.
• Let the tart cool and the filling settle, for at least 12 hours in a cool place before slicing into it. Serve, finally, with coffee and congratulations.

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA: ITALIAN EASTER GRAIN PIE

Steps:

• Place the pre-cooked wheat berries (grano cotto) in a small saucepan.
• Add the milk, butter, and lemon peel.
• Over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer and stir frequently for 10-15 minutes until most of the milk is absorbed and the mixture reassembles a creamy oatmeal-like mixture.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to come to room temperature.
• Then, refrigerate for up to 24 hours before using the following day.
• A few hours before you plan on mixing the ingredients to make the ricotta cheese filling, place the fresh ricotta in a strainer lined with cheesecloth. This will help remove any excess moisture from the cheese.
• While waiting, prepare the citrus sugar by rubbing together the lemon and orange zest with the granulated sugar. Set aside for now.
• When you are ready to combine the ingredients, place the ricotta in a mesh strainer. Then, press the ricotta through the holes into a medium bowl with the back of a spoon.
• Add the citrus sugar and with a fork, mix everything together until well blended. Taste and adjust to personnel sweetness.
• Next, in a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and egg yolks together before adding them to the ricotta mixture. With a fork, combine lightly together.
• Finally, add the pure vanilla extract, orange blossom water, ground cinnamon (optional), and combine. Do not overbeat.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before using the following day.
• Cut ½ cup of cold unsalted butter into 18 small pieces and place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
• In a food processor combine the dry ingredients and pulse a few times.
• Add the cut-up butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse ground meal.
• Add the slightly beaten eggs and pulse until the dough comes together.
• Turn out the dough on a lightly floured wooden board and form it into a smooth disc by pressing the dough together.
• Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimal time of 30 minutes before using it.
• Step by step photos can be found in the article.
• When you are ready, grease a 10-inch (25 cm) pie plate that is 2 inches (5 cm) deep. You can also use a springform pan.
• Remove a third of the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and set it aside for now. This will become the lattice top.
• With a rolling pin, stretch out two-thirds of the chilled pasta frolla dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper to form a 12-inch round about ⅜-inch (1 cm) thick.
• Ease the dough into the 10-inch (25 cm) greased pie plate, being sure to press it into the bottom and up the sides to remove any air bubbles.
• Trim the excess dough even with the rim of the pan. Chill it for 1 hour.
• Combine the trimmed pastry dough scraps with the remaining dough (one-third). Roll it out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper to form a 10-inch round about ⅜-inch (1 cm) thick.
• With a fluted pastry wheel, cut 7 long strips each about one inch wide. These lattice strips will create the criss-cross diamond pattern on our traditional Easter cake. Chill them for at least 1 hour until needed.
• Preheat your oven to 325° F (165 °C). Place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
• Prepare a simple egg wash for brushing the dough by whisking together one whole egg with a teaspoon of milk in a small bowl. Set this aside until you are ready to use it.
• Remove the lemon peel from the grain mixture. Then, combine the ricotta and grain mixture in a large mixing bowl.
• If using, add 1 tablespoon of chopped candied orange peel.
• Use a hand-held blender and pulse gently 5-7 times to help blend the mixture. This will create a smoother pastiera filling.
• Remove the pastry shell from the refrigerator and pour this mixture into the prepared crust.
• Remove the pastry strips from the refrigerator.
• Brush each strip with the egg wash before placing it on the top of the ricotta filling. Brush the inside rim of the dough in the tart pan as well.
• Place four strips gently on the filling and equally distanced from each other. This will form the bottom layer of the lattice top.
• Then, place one strip across the center of the pie, touching the ends of the outer strips previously placed on the filling. Then, place two more strips gently on the filling parallel to the center, creating a diamond-shaped lattice pattern.
• Trim the excess dough from the strips. Fold over the dough of the bottom pastry crust over the top strips of dough, gently pressing it down.
• Bake pastiera in a preheated oven for about 80-90 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is firm to the touch but is still jiggly. If you find that your pastiera is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil during baking to prevent it from burning.
• Once pastiera is baked, turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar. Leave the pastiera in the oven for about 15 minutes, Then, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
• Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and store in a cool dry place, at room temperature, for at least 2 days before serving.
• When you are ready to serve pastiera, lightly dust with powdered sugar. Slice, serve and enjoy!

MOMMA'S ITALIAN PASTIERRA OR HOLIDAY PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together sugar and softened butter.
• To this, add egg yolks one at a time alternating between flour also added a bit at a time.
• Add 1 Tbsp.
• water at a time, until all is incorporated and dough is smooth.
• Set aside; and keep in a cool place to rest until ready to roll out while you prepare the filling.
• FILLING: I do all this is a food processor but it can be done with an electric mixer easily.
• Add the cheese, eggs, sugar,*orange water, zest of lemon, zest of orange and mix well until smooth.
• Set aside.
• Mix in cherries and citron by hand.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4-inch thick and fit into the bottom and up the sides of a 15" round, 4" high cake pan.
• This dough is very forgiving and can be manipulated easily to fit the pan and to patch torn areas.
• If you have extra dough, roll and cutout thin strips to place on top of filling in a lattice pattern.
• On top of dough, cut and place 1/2-inch slices of sponge cake to fit around the bottom of the pan.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of sponge cake.
• Pour batter into pan.
• Top with lattice strips.
• Preheat oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Bake for 1-1/4 hours.
• Turn off oven and leave the pie in the oven with door open to cool slowly.
• After completely cooled, dust the top of the pie with confectionery sugar.

PASTIERA DI PASQUA (ITALIAN EASTER TART WITH RICOTTA)

Steps:

• Bring wheat grains, milk, butter, and 1/2 of the lemon zest to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 11-inch tart pan.
• Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, orange flower water, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in remaining lemon zest and candied orange peel. Fold in wheat mixture and mix filling until well combined.
• Roll out 1 sheet puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so it will fit into the tart pan. Place pastry in the pan and spoon filling on top. Roll out the second puff pastry sheet and cut into 3/4-inch thick strips. Layer a lattice pattern on top of the filling and brush with beaten egg.
• Bake tart in the preheated oven until filling is set and lattice is lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool inside the tart pan, at least 1 hour.
• Carefully unmold tart, transfer onto a cake platter. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.