Pastiera Napoletana Recipes

Steps:

• For the Pasta Frolla, combine dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to mix. Cut butter into 8 pieces and add. Pulse to mix in finely. Add eggs and pulse until dough forms a ball. Remove from work bowl, wrap and chill dough.
• Soak the wheat in water to cover overnight if possible. Drain the wheat and place in a pan with salt and water to cover by 3 to 4 inches and simmer until tender, about 2 hours. Add water as necessary to keep from drying out and sticking. Cool and refrigerate until needed.
• For the pastry cream, combine sugar and flour in a small, non-reactive saucepan. Stir well to mix and add the milk, slowly, whisking it in smoothly. Whisk in the egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the pastry cream thickens and comes to a boil. Boil, stirring vigorously, about 1/2 minute. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and scrape into a clean bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface and chill.
• For the filling, place ricotta in a mixing bowl and stir the cooled pastry cream to make a smooth, creamy mixture; stir in the sugar, eggs and remaining ingredients. Stir in the cooked wheat kernels.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the lowest level. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, 2-inches deep. To assemble, cut off 1/3 of the Pasta Frolla and reserve it. Roll the 2/3 of the dough into a 14-inch disk and line the prepared pan with it. Allow the dough to hang over the edge of the pan. Pour in the filling and sprinkle it with the cinnamon. Roll the remaining 1/3 of the dough into a 10-inch square. Cut it into 10 1-inch wide strips. Paint the strips with the egg wash. Moisten the rim of the dough on the pan with the egg wash, and adhere 5 strips in each direction, forming a diagonal lattice. Trim away any excess dough even with the top of the pan and push the dough all around off the top rim of the pan so that it is completely within the pan.
• Bake about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and the pastry is light golden. Cool in the pan before unmolding. To unmold, invert onto a flat plate, lift off the pan, replace the pan with another plate or platter, then re-invert, so that the Pastiera is right side up. Serve the Pastiera at room temperature.

Steps:

• Soak 100 g (3½ oz) farro or wheat grains (berries) in plenty of cold water, changing the water daily, for three days.
• For the pastry, put the flour, icing sugar, salt, orange zest and butter in a food processor and blitz to a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolks to the mixer and blend again briefly, until the mixture comes together as a dough (add a tablespoon or two of iced water if the dough is still dry and does not come together). Form the dough into two equal rounds with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge or freezer, depending on when you want to use it. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before you roll it.
• Grease a deep 23 cm (9 in) cake tin/crostata tin with butter, then dust it lightly with flour. After the dough has rested, roll it out to a rough 2 mm (1/16 in) thickness and line the cake tin, pushing the dough up the sides of the tin to create a 5-7.5 cm (2-3 in) depth and trimming any overhang. Don't worry too much about perfectly thin, even pastry. Reserve the pastry trimmings for the lattice top. Chill the pastry case in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Remove the pastry case from the fridge and blind-bake until just golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.
• For the farro or wheat berries, on the third day of soaking, drain the soaked grain. Cook in a saucepan with the milk, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt over a very low heat, covered with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until the grain is plump and tender and all the milk had been absorbed. Spread the grain out on a plate to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
• For the rest of the filling, whisk or beat the ricotta in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the orange zest, candied fruit, sugar, orange blossom water, vanilla and salt. Into this mixture, stir the cooled cooked wheat. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them gently into the ricotta mixture.
• Pour the whole lot into the prepared pastry case. Cut the leftover pastry dough into strips about 2 cm (¾ in) wide, and arrange them over the top in a diagonal lattice. Use your fingers to press the edges of each strip into the pastry case walls to seal them.
• Brush the top of the tart with the beaten egg and bake for 90 minutes, or until biscuit brown all over.
• Let the tart cool and the filling settle, for at least 12 hours in a cool place before slicing into it. Serve, finally, with coffee and congratulations.

Steps:

• The Evening Before
• Place the weighed wheat berries in a pan with plenty of water, cover, and soak overnight at room temperature. I like to make at least twice the amount needed, so I have extra breakfast porridge.
• Mix the ricotta and sugar together, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (If the ricotta is runny, drain it first in cheesecloth, weigh it, and then mix it with the sugar.)
• Make the short crust pastry. You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or bowl with a stiff spatula. First cream the butter and sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients except the flour, finally add the flour. Bring the dough together, adding a little flour if it is very sticky. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
• Same Day Prep
• Drain and add fresh water to the pan of wheat berries. You can start with 1 quart water and add more as needed. Bring up to a light boil and then set to simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the simmer is light and the water hasn't evaporated off. When most of the wheat berries have popped open, the grano cotto is done.
• Add the ingredients from the wheat cream list to the pan of grano cotto and simmer while stirring until the mixture is pasty. Remove the peels if desired and use a fork or potato masher to crush the berries. Add the candied peels/citron to the wheat cream and set aside to cool. For a very smooth filling, immersion blend the entire mixture.
• Bring the ricotta-sugar and shortcrust pastry dough out of the refrigerator.
• Whisk together all the ingredients under the ricotta citrus filling ingredient list, adding the ricotta-sugar last.
• Finally, mix the cooled wheat cream into to the ricotta citrus filling. You now have a complete pastiera filling.
• Assembly and Baking
• Preheat your oven to 360F with a shelf at the second-to-lowest position.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch nonstick cake pan.
• Cut your shortcut pastry dough in two pieces, approximately 2/3 for the pastiera base and 1/3 for the lattice/gelosies.
• Flour your workspace and roll out the pastiera base. Use your pan to estimate the dough circle size, making sure you have enough to wrap the dough up the sides of the pan.
• Carefully wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the pan. Use your fingers to press it into the pan and repair any tears, and a knife to cut off excess crust.
• Dock the crust base with a fork to prevent it from puffing upward while baking. This is not particularly needed for a whole wheat crust, but doesn't hurt.
• Roll a rectangle with the second piece of dough, again using plenty of flour, and cut into seven strips.
• Fill the pastiera base with the filling and gently tap the pan on the counter to remove trapped air.
• Place the first four strips of the top crust on the pastiera. Don't lay the first strip dead center, or you'll have trouble spacing the other three.
• Lay the last three strips of crust at an angle to make diamond shapes.
• Trim the excess strips around the edge of the pan and press the strips into the base crust. Extra dough can be baked as cookies; or rolled into a tube, wrapped, and frozen to bake as cookies on another occasion.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes. About 15 minutes into the bake, wrap the edges of the pastiera with a silicone or foil pie shield.
• Let the pastiera cool completely before you attempt to pop it out of the pan. I do this by loosening the edges, then covering it with a clean tea towel, followed by my palm, and then flipping the pastiera into my palm, removing the pan and flipping again as I gently lay it on a flat plate.
• Pastiera can be kept at room temperature to set and fully develop its flavors.
• On day two, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator and heat by the slice for 20-30 seconds in the microwave just to soften the texture and reawaken the aromas.