The pastiera is the dessert par excellence from Naples, among the most loved in Italy, a sweet of the Easter period but delicious all year round. It is a fairly easy recipe to prepare. Today I propose the pastiera from Naples without lard for those who, like me, do not like lard.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 6 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
Ingredients for Neapolitan pastiera without lard
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5.3 oz butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sheep's ricotta
- 1 cup cooked wheat (grano cotto)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup candied orange (about 1.8 oz)
- 1 vial orange blossom water
- 1 packet vanillin (vanilla powder)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar (For dusting)
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Oven
Preparation of Neapolitan pastiera (without lard)
Let’s see how to prepare the Neapolitan pastiera without lard.
First of all, we need to prepare the shortcrust pastry because it will need to rest for half an hour in the refrigerator.
In a bowl, put the flour, sugar, one teaspoon of baking powder, the softened butter cut into pieces, the egg; begin to mix and when it starts to come together, continue kneading on the work surface until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: in a bowl pour the ricotta, the cooked wheat, the sugar, 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk. Start mixing everything with a spoon, making sure to break up the ricotta well, then mix vigorously — you can also help yourself with a whisk. When the mixture is well blended, add the orange blossom water, the vanillin, the candied orange and the ground cinnamon. Mix well, butter and flour the pan.
Take the pastry and remove a portion, roll it out to about half a centimeter thick (about 1/4 inch), roll it onto the rolling pin and lay it into the pan, pressing it well so it adheres to the edges; remove the excess dough and level the edges.
Pour the filling, leveling it well. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut strips with a pastry wheel to decorate the cake. Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 50–60 minutes, until nicely golden. When cool, dust with powdered sugar.
If you don’t have the pan, you can find the pastiera pan -> HERE
Notes
If you don’t like orange blossom water, replace it with the grated zest of one orange. The quantities are for a 24 cm (about 9 1/2 in) pan.
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