Pastiera Napoletana Neapolitan Easter Pie Food

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA (NEAPOLITAN EASTER PIE)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and sugar and process a few times to mix together.
• Next add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Add the egg and yolk and process a few seconds more until the dough forms (this should be about 5-7 more pulses). Be sure to not overprocess the dough.
• Dump the dough from the food processor bowl onto a lightly floured counter. Form the dough into 2 disks (one a little larger than the other. The smaller disk will be used to cut the strips for top of pie) and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
• While dough chills, make the wheat berries and pastry cream.
• Combine the wheat berries with about 2 quarts cold water and the salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then decrease the heat to low and allow the wheat to simmer gently until it is cooked though, about an hour.
• Drain and cool the wheat in a bowl. While wheat berries cool down, prepare the pastry cream.
• Whisk the egg and yolk together in a bowl, then whisk in the sugar and flour. Whisk in the milk and scrape the mixture into a small saucepan.
• Place over medium/low heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few seconds after the cream reaches the boil.
• Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl. Immediately whisk in the ricotta until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time. Stir in the orange flower water, candied orange peel, vanilla, cinnamon and the cooked wheat berries.
• When dough is nicely chilled, remove from the refrigerator.
• Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 13-inch round about 1/8 thick. Spray an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom with baking spray. Gently wrap the dough over the rolling pin and place it over the tart pan; release the rolling pin and let the dough fall into the tart pan.
• Press the dough softly into the bottom of the tart pan. If some of the dough breaks while you press it into the tart pan, that's not a problem. Simply piece the dough together.
• Press the sides of the dough about 1/2 inch up the side of the tart pan. The rim of the tart should be lined with a slightly thicker layer of pastry than the bottom (about 1/4-inch thick). Cut off the extra dough from the sides and keep these excess pieces to make the lattice topping.
• Place this tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or even longer if necessary) to chill.
• When the dough is chilled and ready to fill, remove the tart pan from the refrigerator and prick the pastry bottom with a fork a few times. Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350 F.
• Spoon the ricotta filling into the prepared crust. Remove the other portion of chilled dough from the refrigerator to make the lattice strips. Use a serrated cutting wheel to cut it into 3/4-inch wide strips.
• Arrange 5 of the strips parallel and equal distance from each other on the filling, letting the excess dough hang over the edge of the pie. Place the 5 remaining strips on exactly the same way, but at a 45-degree angle to the first ones.
• Gently press the ends of the strips to adhere to the edge of the bottom crust. Carefully remove any excess pieces of dough with your fingers or with the back of a knife.
• Bake the pastiera until the filling is set and slightly puffed and the crust is baked through, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• The Evening Before
• Place the weighed wheat berries in a pan with plenty of water, cover, and soak overnight at room temperature. I like to make at least twice the amount needed, so I have extra breakfast porridge.
• Mix the ricotta and sugar together, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (If the ricotta is runny, drain it first in cheesecloth, weigh it, and then mix it with the sugar.)
• Make the short crust pastry. You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or bowl with a stiff spatula. First cream the butter and sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients except the flour, finally add the flour. Bring the dough together, adding a little flour if it is very sticky. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
• Same Day Prep
• Drain and add fresh water to the pan of wheat berries. You can start with 1 quart water and add more as needed. Bring up to a light boil and then set to simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the simmer is light and the water hasn't evaporated off. When most of the wheat berries have popped open, the grano cotto is done.
• Add the ingredients from the wheat cream list to the pan of grano cotto and simmer while stirring until the mixture is pasty. Remove the peels if desired and use a fork or potato masher to crush the berries. Add the candied peels/citron to the wheat cream and set aside to cool. For a very smooth filling, immersion blend the entire mixture.
• Bring the ricotta-sugar and shortcrust pastry dough out of the refrigerator.
• Whisk together all the ingredients under the ricotta citrus filling ingredient list, adding the ricotta-sugar last.
• Finally, mix the cooled wheat cream into to the ricotta citrus filling. You now have a complete pastiera filling.
• Assembly and Baking
• Preheat your oven to 360F with a shelf at the second-to-lowest position.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch nonstick cake pan.
• Cut your shortcut pastry dough in two pieces, approximately 2/3 for the pastiera base and 1/3 for the lattice/gelosies.
• Flour your workspace and roll out the pastiera base. Use your pan to estimate the dough circle size, making sure you have enough to wrap the dough up the sides of the pan.
• Carefully wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the pan. Use your fingers to press it into the pan and repair any tears, and a knife to cut off excess crust.
• Dock the crust base with a fork to prevent it from puffing upward while baking. This is not particularly needed for a whole wheat crust, but doesn't hurt.
• Roll a rectangle with the second piece of dough, again using plenty of flour, and cut into seven strips.
• Fill the pastiera base with the filling and gently tap the pan on the counter to remove trapped air.
• Place the first four strips of the top crust on the pastiera. Don't lay the first strip dead center, or you'll have trouble spacing the other three.
• Lay the last three strips of crust at an angle to make diamond shapes.
• Trim the excess strips around the edge of the pan and press the strips into the base crust. Extra dough can be baked as cookies; or rolled into a tube, wrapped, and frozen to bake as cookies on another occasion.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes. About 15 minutes into the bake, wrap the edges of the pastiera with a silicone or foil pie shield.
• Let the pastiera cool completely before you attempt to pop it out of the pan. I do this by loosening the edges, then covering it with a clean tea towel, followed by my palm, and then flipping the pastiera into my palm, removing the pan and flipping again as I gently lay it on a flat plate.
• Pastiera can be kept at room temperature to set and fully develop its flavors.
• On day two, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator and heat by the slice for 20-30 seconds in the microwave just to soften the texture and reawaken the aromas.