Pastiera Napoletana
Campania · dolce · serves 10 · 240 min total · hard
Naples' Easter tart. Legend: the mermaid Parthenope brought seven gifts (flour, ricotta, eggs, wheat, sugar, orange water, spices) ashore — they baked into one tart.
Ingredients
- 400 g '00' flour
- 420 g sugar
- 180 g butter
- 2 eggs eggs (whole)
- 5 yolks egg yolks
- 350 g cooked wheat berries (grano cotto)
- 350 g sheep's milk ricotta
- 150 ml milk
- 2 tbsp orange-flower water
- 100 g candied orange and citron, diced
- 1 lemon lemon zest
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Pasta frolla: rub butter into flour with 200 g sugar. Bind with 1 whole egg and a yolk. Knead briefly, rest covered in fridge 1 hour.
- Wheat cream: warm grano cotto with milk, half the lemon zest, a knob of butter. Cook 10 minutes to a porridge. Cool completely.
- Filling: beat ricotta with 220 g sugar until smooth. Add yolks one by one, then 1 whole egg. Fold in wheat cream, candied peel, orange-flower water, cinnamon, remaining lemon zest.
- Roll out two-thirds of the pastry; line a 28 cm round tin (greased). Pour in filling.
- Roll remaining pastry, cut into strips, lattice the top (7 strips by tradition).
- Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 70–90 minutes until the lattice is deep gold and the filling is set.
- Cool completely, then rest 24 hours before eating — the flavour deepens. Dust with icing sugar to serve.