La Pastiera Napoletana is a traditional cake which is made in the Naples area and eaten on Easter day. It’s very rich and takes a lot of effort to make, but ‘ne vale davvero la pena’ (it’s really worth it). If you’re on a diet however, simply reading this recipe could be bad for you, You have been warned!
Ingredienti:
Mezzo chilo di pasta frolla già pronta
half a kilo of ready made short crust pastry
mezzo chilo di ricotta
half a kilo of ricotta cheese
400 gr di zucchero
400 grams of sugar
220 gr di grano
220 grams of wheat grains
200 gr di scorzette candite
200 grams of candied peel
6 uova
6 eggs
la scorza di 1 limone
rind from 1 lemon
mezzo litro di latte
half a liter of milk
2 cucchiai di acqua di fiori d’arancio
2 tablespoons of orange flower water
cannella in polvere
ground cinnamon
sale
salt
1 noce di burro
a knob of butter |
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Preparazione:
Soak the wheat in water for two or three days, then drain it, put it in a saucepan, cover it with fresh water and boil it gently for 1 hour. Drain the wheat, put it back in the saucepan, add the milk, 2 small pieces of lemon rind, a pinch of cinnamon, 50 grams of sugar, a pinch of salt, and let it cook gently until the milk is completely absorbed. Let it cool down and remove the lemon rind.
In a mixing bowl put together the wheat, the ricotta cheese (sieved), the remaining sugar, the rest of the lemon rind (grated), the candied peel (chopped into small cubes), a pinch of cinnamon, and the orange flower water. Bind everything together with 6 egg yolks. Beat 4 egg whites until stiff, and fold them gently into the mixture.
Grease a large flan dish (about 26 cm in diameter). Roll out the short crust pastry until it is just a few millimeters thick, and line the flan dish with it. Pour the wheat and ricotta mixture into the flan dish and spread it out. Cut the trimmings from the short crust pastry into strips, and use them to decorate the top of the flan with a lattice pattern.
Cook in a hot oven, 200C, 400F, for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Leave it to cool down, then sprinkle with icing sugar.
Buon appetito e Buona Pasqua!
Comments:
William Auge:
Salve Sarena, Incredibile! Mercoledi scorso, il giornale Chicago Tribune aveva una recetta in e’ sezione cibo per La Pastiera Napoletana. Io non ho avuto tempo farlo.
Buona Pasqua, William
Mara:
Thanks for the post! I’m going to try this one out. I’m brushing up on my Italian cooking, studying Italian too on Babbel.com (http://www.babbel.com). It’s been rewarding to learn the cooking and language in tandem.
Sonia:
Last year, my MIL taught me how to make Pastiera. Her recipe is really simple and easy to make. She didn’t make any this year but one of her sisters did and I’ll be having some tonight for dessert!
serena:
@Sonia Salve Sonia, feel free to share your recipe with us, especially if it’s simple!
Saluti da Serena