Shortcrust Pastry for Sal de Riso’s Pastiera
The Neapolitan pastiera is much more than just a dessert; it is a symbol of the Campanian tradition, typical of the Easter period, that tells the story of a land rich in traditions through aromas and flavors. Among its fundamental components, the shortcrust pastry plays an essential role, delicately enveloping the fragrant filling of wheat, ricotta, candied fruits, and orange blossoms.
Today I am offering you the recipe for Sal de Riso’s shortcrust pastry, a well-known Campanian pastry chef, whose some recipes I have already tried, such as the chocolate caprese and the fresher version with lemon.
His soft and fragrant pastry gives the pastiera a perfect structure: crumbly when cut but resistant to cooking, with a balance of butter (or lard), sugar, and aromas that wins over at the first bite.
Also, try the other variants:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Minute
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: for 550 g of shortcrust pastry
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Lent
- Energy 447.79 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 51.04 (g) of which sugars 19.26 (g)
- Proteins 6.65 (g)
- Fat 25.11 (g) of which saturated 15.65 (g)of which unsaturated 9.14 (g)
- Fibers 1.04 (g)
- Sodium 364.41 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 oz butter (or 4.5 oz of lard and 1 oz of egg white)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp egg yolks (about 2 yolks from medium eggs)
- 2 tbsp eggs (whole, equivalent to about half an egg)
- 1 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
- Half pod vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Scale
- 1 Grater
- 1 Work Surface
- Plastic Wrap
Steps
Place the flour in the bowl of the stand mixer, add the butter, and work the two ingredients until you get a sort of sand (many separate crumbs).
Add the sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest, mix everything, then add the yolks, the egg, and start kneading until you get a compact dough.
Work it quickly to avoid warming the butter too much, form a dough ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
If you have time, you can prepare it the night before; it will improve in taste and texture.
After resting, take the pastry and knead it on the work surface or in the stand mixer for 1 minute (especially if you let the pastry rest overnight); this operation will ensure a homogeneous and pliable dough perfect for your recipes.
The shortcrust pastry for Sal de Riso’s pastiera is ready. Make your pastiera by rolling out the pastry to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
Advice
Always use quality ingredients so it can be stored in the refrigerator for 10/15 days. It can be frozen for 2 months.
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