Yellow Squash Pie, or Torta Di Zucca Gialla: This recipe is drawn from The Art of Eating Well, my translation of Pellegrino Artusi's La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene, the first truly successful Italian cookbook. Artusi notes that yellow squash pie is made in autumn or winter, when greengrocers carry yellow squash.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) squash
- 3/4 cup (4 ounces, or 100 g) almonds
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 1 pint (500 ml) milk
- 3 eggs
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Peel the squash, remove any filaments it may have, and grate it over a cloth. Pick up the cloth by the corners and squeeze the pulp so as to remove much of the water; the 2 1/4 pounds will be reduced to about 3/4 pound. Boil the pulp in the milk until it's cooked; this will require from 25 to 40 minutes depending upon the type of squash. Meantime, peel and grind the almonds in a mortar with the sugar. When the squash is cooked, add all the ingredients except the eggs, which you will want to stir in when the mixture has cooled. From here on, follow the instructions given for Torta di Ricotta:
Thoroughly grease a pan with lard, line it with a dough made by combining 1 1/8 cup flour, a pinch of salt, and just enough milk to bind the mixture. Pour the batter into it so as to have a layer about a finger and a half thick; bake it between two flames (a technique from the days before ovens were common -- on a stove top, with coals on the lid of the pan,) or in a 325º oven for 45-50 minutes. Beware: the heat must be very low, and set a buttered sheet of paper over the cake, because its beauty lies in the fact that it’s white. When it’s quite cold, cut it into squares, each with its piece of crust, which the diner is free to eat or ignore as he chooses, since it’s sole function is to provide a convenient base for cake.
Thoroughly grease a pan with lard, line it with a dough made by combining 1 1/8 cup flour, a pinch of salt, and just enough milk to bind the mixture. Pour the batter into it so as to have a layer about a finger and a half thick; bake it between two flames (a technique from the days before ovens were common -- on a stove top, with coals on the lid of the pan,) or in a 325º oven for 45-50 minutes. Beware: the heat must be very low, and set a buttered sheet of paper over the cake, because its beauty lies in the fact that it’s white. When it’s quite cold, cut it into squares, each with its piece of crust, which the diner is free to eat or ignore as he chooses, since it’s sole function is to provide a convenient base for cake.
