The Neapolitan pastiera, her majesty the queen of Italian desserts, a recipe I have been preparing for many years on the occasion of the Easter holidays, will not disappoint you. I don’t believe there is anything absolute and original, beyond the standards, there is everything that is passed down from the traditions of each family.
For us, the Neapolitan pastiera must never be missing among the spring desserts, especially at Easter, and it is devoured in the blink of an eye. That’s why I always make more than one and often give them as gifts. It is not difficult to make, so do not be afraid; it is just a bit more laborious in combining the right balance of ingredients and assembling them together.
The dosage of this recipe is for a 9-inch diameter mold, enough for 8-10-12 people, so get fresh ricotta, good butter, already cooked wheat, candied citron, make 7 strict strips on the pie, and you’re done.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economic
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 12People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 package vanillin
- 1 pinch salt
- grated zest of half a lemon
- 350 g cooked wheat
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 tbsps butter
- whole zest of half a lemon
- 500 g ricotta (cow or mixed)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (whole)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup candied citron (cut into small pieces)
- 1 package vanillin
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- grated lemon zest
Steps
Start preparing the wheat, which is already cooked in glass jars. Put it in a saucepan with the milk, butter, whole lemon zest, and cook it over low heat until it turns into a cream.
Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and when it becomes a creamy mixture, turn off the heat, remove the lemon zest, and let it cool.
In the meantime, prepare the shortcrust pastry, which you can knead by hand or in the Bimby with the spike mode. In a bowl or in the Bimby bowl, put the flour, sugar, vanillin, pinch of salt, cold butter cut into small pieces, whole eggs, grated lemon zest. Knead the mixture until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
On a floured work surface, finish kneading the shortcrust pastry until it becomes a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Then wrap the shortcrust pastry in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, pour the sifted ricotta, add the sugar, eggs, and other ingredients Mix well until it becomes smooth and creamy. You can also use the Bimby by pouring everything into the bowl with a quick blend at the minimum dough speed.
Add the cooked wheat to the ricotta, which has cooled in the meantime, and the candied citron cut into small pieces. Mix the ingredients well together and finally, as the grandmothers did, taste the mixture, because you can already taste the flavor of the pastiera and adjust the aromas to your liking.
Take the shortcrust pastry, set aside 14 of the dough that will be used to form the 7 strips on the cake, and roll out the rest on two sheets of floured parchment paper, to a thickness of 2-3 millimeters.
Butter and flour a mold with a diameter of 9 inches and lay the shortcrust pastry inside, covering most of the edge. Pour the ricotta and wheat mixture and distribute it evenly.
Slightly fold the edge of the shortcrust pastry until it touches the ricotta cream.
With the rest of the shortcrust pastry set aside, form 7 strips with the zigzag wheel and lay them on the cake, fixing them from one edge to the other. Place 4 strips first diagonally and then 3 strips crossed with each other.
Preheat the oven to 338°F and bake the pastiera in the central shelf for 1 hour. When the shortcrust pastry is cooked and golden, turn off the oven and let it rest inside until it is cold.
Finally, take it out, remove it from the mold, and sprinkle the Neapolitan pastiera with powdered sugar.
It keeps for many days in the refrigerator if you can resist, or it can be frozen.
