Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole · Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole della Giudecca
Lazio · dolce · serves 10 · 180 min total · medium
From the Ghetto of Rome, where the Jewish community refined this crostata over four centuries. The thick top lattice of pastry was practical — it kept the dairy ricotta hidden from view on streets where dairy was forbidden after meat. Visciole, the small tart wild cherries of the Castelli Romani, come into season in June. Boccione and Forno del Ghetto still bake it best.
Ingredients
- 350 g 00 flour
- 175 g cold butter, cubed
- 120 g sugar
- 1 egg egg
- 1 yolk egg yolk
- 1 lemon lemon zest
- 1 pinch pinch of salt
- 600 g sheep's milk ricotta, well drained
- 140 g sugar for filling
- 350 g visciole sour cherries in syrup (or amarena)
- 20 ml dark rum
Method
- Pasta frolla: pile flour with sugar, salt, lemon zest. Rub in the cold butter to coarse crumbs. Add the whole egg and yolk, work quickly into a dough. Wrap, refrigerate 1 hour.
- Drain the visciole over a bowl. Reduce the syrup over medium heat with the rum until thick — 5 minutes — then return the cherries.
- Whisk drained ricotta with the second portion of sugar until silky. (Many Roman pasticcerie use sheep's ricotta only — it has the right tang.)
- Roll two-thirds of the dough to a 4 mm round. Line a 26 cm tart tin. Spread half the ricotta cream.
- Cover the ricotta with all the visciole and their thickened syrup — they sink in slightly. Cover with the rest of the ricotta cream.
- Roll the last third of dough to long strips. Lattice over the top in a tight diamond pattern (the Giudecca pattern is six strips one way, six the other, all straight, no twist).
- Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 45–50 minutes until the pastry is biscuit-coloured and the centre just set. Cool completely.
- Eat at room temperature, ideally the next day. The crust softens, the visciole bleed slightly into the ricotta — that's when it's right.