One of the most spectacular Italian Easter pastries is the Pastiera Napoletana, a wheat berry and ricotta pie that gains grace and allure from orange water. "Nobody escapes its allure," wrote Caròla Francesconi in introducing it, "an allure due not so much to its goodness as to a subconscious love that's transmitted from generation to generation." Anything that can burrow into the regional psyche, bearing with it the "perfumes of spring," is powerful stuff. Aironeverde is a regular visitor to the Italian food forum, and has kindly shared her recipe
Ingredients:
- Hulled wheat grains (or one-pound can of presoaked wheat)*
- 1 1/2 lbs. of the best quality whole-milk ricotta you can find
- 6 eggs (You will use 6 yolks and 4 whites.)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- One teaspoon salt
- About 1/2 cup finely diced candied orange rind (the best quality you can find)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely diced candied citron (the best quality you can find)
- About 1/4 cup finely diced candied lemon peel (the best quality you can find)
- (Substitute the lemon for some of the citron if you can find it.)
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons orange flower water*
- 2 or more teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oil of orange peel*
- A very small drop of oil of lemon peel*
Preparation:
Crust--Follow recipes for "pasta frolla" or use commercial graham cracker crust, which is absolutely not authentic, but tastes good with the filling. See note.*
To start preparing the wheat, boil the hulled wheat grains in water until the grains burst open. Add more water and a little salt and boil covered for about 45 minutes. Then set it aside for about two hours. (If you use unhulled hard wheat, the steps are the same, but everything will take much longer, i.e. more than an hour boiling, and overnight soaking).
Drain the soaked wheat. Measure about two cups (or a little more), which will probably be a little over a pound, or squeeze out excess liquid and use about a pound or 1 1/4 pounds. Or, if you are not preparing your own wheat from scratch, open your one-pound can of pre-soaked wheat.
Boil 1/2 cup of milk, add a little sugar, and cook the wheat in this for a few minutes. Add a little salt.
Add the candied orange, citron and lemon peel and the orange peel oil (and optional lemon peel oil) to the wheat. Set aside or refrigerate to cool.
Prepare filling as follows. Mix 1 1/2 lbs. ricotta with 1 1/2 cups sugar until uniformly mixed. Add the orange flower water, vanilla extract and cinnamon and mix well.
Beat separately 6 egg yolks and 4 egg whites. (The whites should be beaten until very light and high.) Mix the yolks into the ricotta mixture. Mix the whites into the wheat mixture. Then mix the two parts of the filling together and blend evenly.
Spoon the filling into the graham pie crusts. This filling recipe is enough to fill one large, one medium and three mini commercial pie shells.
Bake in preheated 350 F. oven until the filling is medium tan (probably more than a hour).
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Quantities for the flavorings are approximate and can be adjusted according to taste.
* Re: ingredients.
The wheat grains may be available from Italian specialty food stores, especially around Easter time and in early December. They may also be available from "whole" or natural foods stores, but try to get the hulled wheat; unhulled wheat can also be used, but it requires a much longer soaking period in order to soften it. If you get unhulled, get "spring wheat," which is softer.
The canned wheat is usually available from Italian specialty food stores around Easter time, and though it looks bad when it comes out of the can, it works quite well. Orange and lemon peel oils are available in Boyajian brand from many stores specializing in "gourmet" cooking ingredients and from some mail order cooking and baking supply catalogues.
Orange flower water is essential to this recipe; nothing can substitute for it. You can generally find it in "gourmet" food stores, Italian specialty food stores, middle eastern and north African grocery stores, and some old-fashioned toiletries shops like Caswell-Massey and Crabtree and Evelyn.
Note: The authentic sweet crust for this Easter specialty of Naples is called pasta frolla; it is not at all like graham cracker crusts. If you would like to make an authentic pastiera di grano napoletana, you can find recipes for pasta frolla in cookbooks containing traditional recipes of southern Italy. The filling recipe above will be very good with either the authentic pasta frolla or the graham cracker crust. Do not use standard pie crusts normally used for American fruit pies. They do not go well with this filling at all because they are too salty and tough.
Blue Moon, another forum regular, chimed in with, This does sound VERY good...Here I go being me...I'd (that's me) have to add about 1 tablespoon rose water along with the orange blossom water.
You can find food grade rose water along-side the orange blossom water. If anyone has a hard time finding an Italian specialty store for any of these wheat berries...try your local healthfood store(s). I usually find a variety of wheat berries...in bulk(by the pound)...summer, winter, hulled, unhulled, ancient varieties, spelt, you name it, etc...
Good luck and Happy Easter to all!
I thank them both, and with regards to a pasta frolla recipe, suggest Artusi's.
To start preparing the wheat, boil the hulled wheat grains in water until the grains burst open. Add more water and a little salt and boil covered for about 45 minutes. Then set it aside for about two hours. (If you use unhulled hard wheat, the steps are the same, but everything will take much longer, i.e. more than an hour boiling, and overnight soaking).
Drain the soaked wheat. Measure about two cups (or a little more), which will probably be a little over a pound, or squeeze out excess liquid and use about a pound or 1 1/4 pounds. Or, if you are not preparing your own wheat from scratch, open your one-pound can of pre-soaked wheat.
Boil 1/2 cup of milk, add a little sugar, and cook the wheat in this for a few minutes. Add a little salt.
Add the candied orange, citron and lemon peel and the orange peel oil (and optional lemon peel oil) to the wheat. Set aside or refrigerate to cool.
Prepare filling as follows. Mix 1 1/2 lbs. ricotta with 1 1/2 cups sugar until uniformly mixed. Add the orange flower water, vanilla extract and cinnamon and mix well.
Beat separately 6 egg yolks and 4 egg whites. (The whites should be beaten until very light and high.) Mix the yolks into the ricotta mixture. Mix the whites into the wheat mixture. Then mix the two parts of the filling together and blend evenly.
Spoon the filling into the graham pie crusts. This filling recipe is enough to fill one large, one medium and three mini commercial pie shells.
Bake in preheated 350 F. oven until the filling is medium tan (probably more than a hour).
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Quantities for the flavorings are approximate and can be adjusted according to taste.
* Re: ingredients.
The wheat grains may be available from Italian specialty food stores, especially around Easter time and in early December. They may also be available from "whole" or natural foods stores, but try to get the hulled wheat; unhulled wheat can also be used, but it requires a much longer soaking period in order to soften it. If you get unhulled, get "spring wheat," which is softer.
The canned wheat is usually available from Italian specialty food stores around Easter time, and though it looks bad when it comes out of the can, it works quite well. Orange and lemon peel oils are available in Boyajian brand from many stores specializing in "gourmet" cooking ingredients and from some mail order cooking and baking supply catalogues.
Orange flower water is essential to this recipe; nothing can substitute for it. You can generally find it in "gourmet" food stores, Italian specialty food stores, middle eastern and north African grocery stores, and some old-fashioned toiletries shops like Caswell-Massey and Crabtree and Evelyn.
Note: The authentic sweet crust for this Easter specialty of Naples is called pasta frolla; it is not at all like graham cracker crusts. If you would like to make an authentic pastiera di grano napoletana, you can find recipes for pasta frolla in cookbooks containing traditional recipes of southern Italy. The filling recipe above will be very good with either the authentic pasta frolla or the graham cracker crust. Do not use standard pie crusts normally used for American fruit pies. They do not go well with this filling at all because they are too salty and tough.
Blue Moon, another forum regular, chimed in with, This does sound VERY good...Here I go being me...I'd (that's me) have to add about 1 tablespoon rose water along with the orange blossom water.
You can find food grade rose water along-side the orange blossom water. If anyone has a hard time finding an Italian specialty store for any of these wheat berries...try your local healthfood store(s). I usually find a variety of wheat berries...in bulk(by the pound)...summer, winter, hulled, unhulled, ancient varieties, spelt, you name it, etc...
Good luck and Happy Easter to all!
I thank them both, and with regards to a pasta frolla recipe, suggest Artusi's.
