Pastiera Napoletana
如果你找不到脱壳全麦内核(一些times sold as "pastry wheat"), substitute barley, skip the soaking, and cook as described below, but for only about 30 minutes. Whole wheat kernels —granoin Italian — are used for this traditional Neapolitan dessert that became a mainstay in Italian-American restaurants and bakeries. In Italy, cooked whole-wheat kernels can be found in cans; if you spot some, it will make this recipe a little simpler.
Ingredients
Makes 16 servings
For thePasta FrollaDough
For the Filling
- Orange-flour水是由蒸馏橙色oil. It is available in specialty food stores and Middle Eastern groceries.
Step 1
Spoon the ricotta into a large fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Drain in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
Make the dough:
Step 2
Process 2 cups of granulated sugar, 4 egg yolks, and the lemon zest in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade until all ingredients are blended. Add the butter and process, using quick on/off pulses, just until incorporated. Scrape out the dough into a mixing bowl and stir in the flour just until you have a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, or up to 1 day.
Make the filling:
Step 3
Soak the wheat kernels in a bowl with enough water to cover by three fingers until softened, 3 to 4 hours. Drain well.
Step 4
Bring the milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Stir in the drained wheat and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar. Return to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wheat kernels are tender but still have some bite, about 45 minutes. (Most of the milk will have been absorbed.) Drain, and cool to room temperature.
Step 5
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 12-inch springform pan. Roll out two-thirds of the dough into a 16-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Lift the dough circle into the pan, pressing it gently against the bottom and sides and into the corners of the pan. Most likely the dough will tear. Don’t be alarmed, simply press the torn edges together after fitting the dough into the pan. Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle, and slide onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate the lined pan and rolled dough until needed.
Step 6
Process the remaining 2 1/4 quarter cups granulated sugar, the eggs, and egg yolks in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until pale yellow. Spoon in the drained ricotta and add the orange water and cinnamon. Mix, using quick on/off pulses, just until blended. Scrape the ricotta mixture into the bowl with the grain, scatter the candied fruit peel over all, and fold together with a rubber spatula until blended. Scrape the filling into the pre-prepared pastry shell.
Step 7
Cut the 12-inch pastry circle into 1/2-inch strips. Make a lattice top by laying strips of the dough in alternating directions over the filling. Press the strips of dough gently to join them to the dough along the sides of the pan and pinch off any overhanging dough.
Step 8
Bake until pastry is golden brown and the center feels springy when poked with a finger, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove, and cool completely before serving. The cake will keep, refrigerated, for up to a week. It will be better a day or two after baking. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.
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Reviews (17)
Back to TopI tried this pie this year instead of my grandma's recipe--just to try a variation and see how it compared the week before Easter. I have to say the taste was delicious. Although, I used my grandma's olive oil crust, which I prefer. Unfortunately I noticed *after* that there is a typo in this recipe when compared to Lidia's website. It should be 1 1/2 cup wheat, not 2 cups. I definitely now realize this is why my grain was a little too tough. I should've cooked it longer, given more grain, but only did the 45 minutes. I would suggest anyone making this uses 1 1/2 cups as opposed to 2 cups. My grain was too al dente in the finished cake, which was unfortunate because there is no turning back by that point--and no one wants to eat a chewy pastiera. Check out Lidia's recipe on her site so you use the correct proportions. I bet it would be delicious then: http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/696
fromlisaskitchen
Brooklyn, NY
4/9/2014
wheat berries can differ a great deal on how long you cook them, so it is best to search for recipes that will ask you to cook them separately in water and not to combine them with other ingredients until they are done. Depending on your wheat berries this recipe will be either too dry or too liquidy, which is what some people here are complaining about.
startled_crow
ny
11/16/2013
I was SO disappointed! I read the reviews and I looked at other recipes before deciding on this. I'm sure it was my fault, but, the pie filling was like liquid! I poured it into the frolla dough.,What I shouldn't have done at that point was to put a crust on top. The lattice sunk into the pie. I went ahead and baked it not knowing what to expect. The flavor was absolutely delicious, however the texture left a lot to be desired. I have my own chickens, and I was thinking that maybe the eggs were too big and liquefied it more than necessary. I'm not sure. It was a LOT of work and little to none reward. Oh, and I added citron to it as many recipes suggested, but the texture was horrible. I'll try again but maybe not this recipe.
Anonymous
NY
3/21/2013
This is my second time making this recipe and with some tweeking I am going to give it four forks. Made as directed it was way too dry. So, here is what I did to make it four forks worthy. First, the twelve inch pie is way too big. Instead I did 1 1/2 times the recipe and used two eight inch pans. I gave one away since even an eight inch pie is enough to serve many people. Second, I used fresh ricotta, but only let in drain for about six hours; four would have been plenty. Draining it more the last time resulted in a dry, crumbly mess. Not this time. It had just the right amount of moisture. Third, I soaked the wheat at least eight hours. It could have even gone longer. Then I cooked it about an hour or so, until the milk was pretty much gone. Finally, it is important to use very fresh candied citrus. I actually used candied fruit from an Italian market. YUM! Now this was wonderful. Delicious, subtle flavors bouncing around; a lovely dense but not too rich texture and a beautiful presentation.
Anonymous
Brooklyn
4/12/2009
I made this last year and it was wonderful...but even better a few days later. This year I'm making it a few days early. I do have a question, though...I decided to buy the canned cooked wheat this year. Does anyone know what amount I would use for this recipe? Thanks!
thomasrs
CT
4/7/2009
I am not rating this recipe since I baked this pie using another recipe - Michele Scicolones, published two years ago in the Easter issue of Gourmet . It turned out very delicious and it uses the most common 9-inch springform pan. If someone is interested I posted the recipe and photo at www.bakingobsession.com
veravik
Vancouver, BC
3/22/2008
我派了很干。我用高质量的fresh ricotta and I think that this resulted in too little fluid to keep the pie moist. It was so dry it crumbled. I would definitely skip the draining process next time. I also found the dough very very hard to work with--and I am a very experienced baker. It got too hard in the frig and then too soft on the counter. Next time I will plan to work with it after an hour rather than save it for a day. It would be better to get it into the pan and sliced into lattice in advance if you want to wait to bake. Also, this pie is HUGE and I pulled some out to make a small pie as well. Next time I will probably make three small pies, cutting the baking time, and will give two away.
Anonymous
Brooklyn, NY
4/11/2007
I found it pretty much impossible to use a food processor, but a hand mixer worked fine. I used barley, and it only needed to simmer for about 20 minutes. I initially had trouble with the dough - let it warm up and get flexible, and use plenty of flour on your rolling surface. A great, if very rich, dessert!
Anonymous
4/9/2007
I had a terrible time with this recipe! I am a fairly experienced dessert & pie baker but still had some issues. First, the pasta dough was very hard to work with. It crumbled apart when I first tried to roll it out so I kneaded it a bit at room temp to get it back to a state where it could be rolled out. Then it was too sticky. I ended up patching it into the pan. In addition, although I used fresh ricotta and let it drain overnight, not much liquid came out so the filling was too wet. Finally, I had trouble finding the wheat kernels and by mistake bought "organic whole wheat" grains that I thought would work. They never softened up enough despite hours more of soaking and cooking time. I later read in a book that I should have used barley if I couldn't find the wheat berries, I probably bought "unhulled" ones. The pastry did inded taste delicious but the fililng was inedible and I threw out about $30 worth of ingredients! So, beware when making this recipe that you have time and patience and purchase the right grain.
ellenspirer
Yonkers, NY
4/8/2007
I always bought my grain pies from a pastry shop in Brooklyn. Everyone loved this one when I made it for Easter. I think I'll save my $25 from the pastry shop and use it towards the ingredients for my own.
cdellaporte
Brooklyn, NY
4/24/2006
Unable to find wheat kernels so I substituted rice and cooked for 10-15 minutes so a bit of bite remained. Same with orange water-substituted 1/4 teaspoon orange oil. Candied orange peel-substituted fresh zest of one large orange & minced. Despite the necessary substitutions, this recipe tasted wonderful & will be on this Easters table again. Don't forget to sprinkle the top with pastel colored sugars before baking!
lan
Phoenixville, PA
4/11/2006
I live in a small area and can't find orange water. I do have pure orange oil. Can I turn that into orange water?
suzy
mankato, mn
4/1/2004
I loved this recipe! It was fairly simple to make. The pastry does break apart but it doesn't matter - just patch it and go on. The texture of the pastry is lovely and very tasty. For the filling I found wheat berries in the can and that saved some time. I followed the directions on the can to prepare the berries and then incorporated them into this recipe. The results were very good. My family and friends loved it. I look forward to making it again.
Yanna
Willistown, PA
4/28/2003
this recipe is right on the money, this is the real thing, however you must use fresh ricotta which has been drained. If you use the commercial ricotta it will result in a thin batter, you can compensate with more wheat but better to find real ricotta. Lydia BRAVA
Stephen
Bedford New York
11/9/2002
Natalie, did you remember to drain both the wheat and the ricotta? This extra liquid could cause the filling to be runny. Good luck!
Anonymous
5/8/2002
