I remember when I got married with my husband, a pure Napolitan, I didn't dare cooking any Italian food (God forbid Napolitan!)because I was affraid of critisim.Everytime I cooked pasta, it was either overcooked or there was not enough salt in the water.I wouldn't dare telling my husband or his relatives that fusili tastes like penne and mezze penne and farfalle.One day ,I cooked lasagna(or lasagne as Milanese call it)for lunch and I was pretty enthusiastic about the result.On that same day, my mother-in-law called us to ask how things were going. When I told her that we were having lasagna for lunch,her first comment was :" Lasagna??! who cooked it?" The little voice inside my head told me :" Don't mess with a Napolitan mother-in-law" so I lied and said that my husband did. "oh weh" her answer was(which means ahhhhhh in Napolitan), with a big relief that her son wouldn't have to eat some disastrous food made by a non Napolitan woman.Five years after that and after two kids, my husband got used to the fact that I can cook a good enough pasta for him to eat,otherwise he would have to cook dinner.
I cooked many Italian dishes so far ,and some Napolitan dishes as well.But there is one thing I could never touch because it is "sacred" according to my husband ,and that is : The Pastiera ,or as Napolitans call it : A' PASTIERA.
It's a ricotta and wheat grain filled pie that is eaten arround and in easter time.I remember the first time I ate Pastiera I was totaly in love. It is not too sweet and the pie crust is perfect.Usually we would eat Pastiera at my sister's-in-law house for easter, but two years ago, my husband decided we should start making our own Pastiera .So he seriously took it as a challenge, and I must say, the result was well worth it.This recipe is my husband's recipe and it has been running in his family ever since he remembers himself.
I know that easter is behind us now, but in my husband's family , anytime is a good time for a good Pastiera (fatta in casa!)
Happy Baking!
Pastiera Napolitana
Ingredients
For a 24cm pie pan
Pie Crust
300 gr flour
3 egg yolks
150 gr custer sugar
150 gr butter
Filling
350 gr ricotta cheese
350 gr custer sugar
200 gr wheat grains (soaked in water for over a night)
140 ml milk
A pinch of salt
A zest of one lemon
A zest of one orange
5 eggs (separated into egg whites and yolks)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons rose water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
On a flat surface ,put the flour and make a hole in the middle. In that hole, put egg yolks , butter and sugar and start to mix all ingredients together with your hands until it holds into a dough shape, then start to knead the dough until you obtain a non sticking ball. You have to work very fast when kneeding this dough, otherwise it will not be crispy enough. Put the dough in a cling film and leave it in the fridge for one hour. On a medium-low fire, cook together : milk, wheat grains,one tablespoon butter, vanilla extarct, salt and lemon zest. Keep stiring until you have a creamy consistency (it should take about 15 min)let cool aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until you've reached a soft peak consistency.
In a separate bowl,soften the ricotta cheese using a spoon, then add sugar, egg yolks (followed by mixing) then once at a time, add cooled wheat grains mixture, rose water , cinnamon,orange zest, and at the end beaten egg whites, working it from bottom to top.Use two thirds of the pie dough to cover a greased pie pan , then pour over the Ricotta and wheat grains filling. With the remaining pie dough,make stripes (1 cm wide) and put them one above the other as seen in the photo. Bake at 180°c for about one hour and a half. After cooling pie, dust it with some confectioner's sugar.
This pie is at it's maximum , two days after it's baked.
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