Recipe from Chef Valter's kitchen
Pastiera Napoletana is traditional recipe from Naples, Italy. This typical Easter sweet treat has a rich history that's believed to have been originated in a Neapolitan convent. Now, each Italian family has their own secret Pastiera Napoletana recipe that's passed down from generation to generation.
A traditional Pastiera Napoletana involves creating a perfect sweet shortcrust pastry, and the right balance of grain, ricotta and candied fruit for an explosion of spring flavours. This recipe is from my kitchen, based in Tuscany. If you'd like to cook this together, or cook another recipe, you can view our Italian cooking classes here.
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
300g / 10½oz Flour 200g / 7oz Butter 2 Eggs 100g / 3½oz Sugar Lemon rind Vanilla pod/bean
METHOD
Pour the flour onto the tabletop and make a well in the center. Add all the remaining ingredients into the center of this well - butter, egg, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla, and slowly start to mix, gradually bringing the flour into the center. Once mixed together, put in the refrigerator and leave to rest for 3 hours before using.
CHEF’S NOTE : Make sure that the butter is soft as this will help give a smoother mix. Also work the sweet paste very cold with as little flour as possible. The more flour you use the harder the paste will be.
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GRAIN CREAM 400g/14oz cooked grain (such as wheatberries or pre-cooked wheat) 50g/2oz butter orange and lemon peel 160ml/5½fl oz whole fat milk a pinch of salt
METHOD Whilst the dough is resting, prepare the wheat cream. Pour the pre-cooked grain in a pan with a pinch of salt. Add milk, butter, a piece of orange and lemon peel and bring to the verge of boiling. Turn off the heat and spread the mixture out on a baking tray to cool. FILLING 700g/24½oz sheep ricotta 150g/5oz candied fruit, a mix of orange and citron 3 eggs and 5 yolks 25ml/1fl oz orange blossom water 600g/21oz sugar Icing sugar to sprinkle on the top
METHOD Next we’ll prepare our filling by blending in a bowl the ricotta, sugar, eggs, orange blossom water and candied fruit to obtain a soft cream. Discard the orange and lemon peel from the grain which we now need to mix into the ricotta cream.
ASSEMBLING YOUR PASTIERA NAPOLETANA
Roll out your pastry on a floured surface to 1/8inch/3mm thickness and place over a 9inch/23cm pie tin which has a sloping edge. Trim and pour the filling inside. Roll out the pastry trimmings into ribboned strips and place them diagonally across the pastiera. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (360°F) for about 50 minutes. When it’s cool, dust with icing sugar.
