Celebrating the arrival of Spring
A Fairy Tale recipe
The mermaid Partenope lived in the Gulf of Naples and the music of her voice spread across the ocean so the story goes… one day she received delicious gifts from the people who loved her:
wheat flour or spelt ( a symbol of wealth), cream of ricotta cheese ( a symbol of abundance),
eggs for fertility and wheat cooked in milk, the fusion between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. She also received orange blossoms which represent the scent of the land and sugar to celebrate the sweetness of her songs.
Enzo’s family recipe
1. Prepare shortbread pastry.
2. Filling:
200 g cooked wheat in jar or tin, ½ litre milk, 200 g sugar, 500 g sheep’s milk ricotta cheese, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, vanilla essence or pod, 5 eggs (separate the yolk from the white), zest of one orange and one lemon, 150 g candied citrus peel, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of caster sugar.
Method:
3. Drain the wheat and place it in a saucepan with the milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, a pinch or two of
cinnamon and vanilla essence or pod.
4. Simmer the mixture over medium heat and allow to cook for about 30 minutes on low heat until dense.
Stir the mixture frequently to stop it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The mixture must be creamy, all the milk absorbed and the wheat soft and swollen.
5. Whip or beat ricotta by hand for about 10 minutes until creamy.
6. Add the yolks one at a time and incorporate well.
7. Add the orange and lemon zest, the candied citrus peel, cinnamon and sugar.
8. Stir in the wheat mixture.
9. Whip with an electric mixer the egg whites in a separate bowl with a pinch of salt until you
see stiff peaks. Fold egg whites gently to wheat mixture.
10. Make the pastry by hand.
600 g plain 00 type flour
300 g caster sugar
Zest of one lemon
300 g butter
1 egg slightly beaten
Mix ingredients by hand, make a ball and place dough on a sheet of cling wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
11. Heat the oven to 180 C.
12. Roll out 2 sheets/discs of pastry, about 5 mm thick and line the bottom and sides of a cake tin. Adapt the pastry to your cake tin.
13. Lay strips of pastry across the Pastiera (see pictures).
14. Bake for about 80 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool on a rack and sprinkle with castor sugar before serving. It may be necessary to lower the heat if you notice that the Pastiera is getting too dark.
Happy Easter / Buona Pasqua
