Hemm Pastiera Naplitana it is a shortcrust pastry cake with a resistant and not too crumbly shell (otherwise the decorative strips will break during cooking and the slice will tend to split) and a soft and creamy filling. It is filled with a mixture of ricotta, sugar, eggs and wheat boiled in milk; the color is a very intense golden-yellow, while the aroma and flavor change according to the spices and aromas used during preparation. To wish a Happy Easter to friends and relatives try to amaze them with this recipe, or even with a tasty one Kejk tal-Għid, another classic dessert of the period able to satisfy the palates of adults and children! But now let’s roll up our sleeves and take care of the delicious original Neapolitan Pastiera.

Preparazzjoni

1

To prepare the base of the Neapolitan Pastiera, take a bowl and insert the sifted flour together with the lard.

2

With your fingertips, crumble these two ingredients until you get a grainy mixture.

3

Add the vanilla extract to the mixture.

4

Pour in the granulated sugar and a pinch of fine salt. Mix the ingredients well.

5

Take another bowl and beat the eggs inside; then add them to the grainy mixture created previously.

6

Take a fork and start mixing all the ingredients well.

7

Continue until the consistency of the pastry is smooth and homogeneous.

8

To finish kneading the base of the cake, transfer the dough obtained on a previously floured pastry board. Then leave the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

9

To prepare the cream of wheat, use a saucepan and pour the milk, lard, lemon zest, previously grated, and 50 g of granulated sugar into it.

10

At this point, add the precooked wheat, vanilla extract and a sprinkling of cinnamon in the pan.

11

Bring the ingredients to the fire and mix them with the help of a whisk until all lumps are eliminated.

12

Cook for about 20 minutes, until a compact cream of wheat is obtained.

13

Retrieve an immersion blender to get a smoother consistency; mix with a spatula and leave to rest. Once the cream of wheat has cooled, place it in the refrigerator.

14

To prepare the ricotta cream, take two bowls and divide the yolks from the whites inside them. The latter must be whipped with the help of an electric mixer.

15

Pour the well-drained ricotta into a large bowl together with the remaining sugar and whisk the ingredients with an electric whisk.

16

Add the egg yolks to the whipped mixture one at a time and incorporate them into the cream.

17

Continue to beat the cream until the mixture is full-bodied and homogeneous.

18

Collect the beaten egg whites and add them gently to the bowl of egg yolks, mixing from bottom to top, to avoid disassembling them.

19

Now add the grated lemon zest, the orange blossom aroma and the cinnamon. Mix everything with a spatula.

20

Now take the candied fruit and chop them, using a food processor, (this operation can be skipped if the candied fruit is preferred whole).

21

Incorporate the chopped candied fruit and the cream of wheat, previously created, into the ricotta cream and mix well.

22

At this point you will get a very fragrant cream: it will be the filling of our Neapolitan Pastiera.

23

Get a pan for cakes and line it with parchment paper; retrieve the pastry from the refrigerator, and after having floured the work surface, roll it out with the help of a rolling pin.

24

Pour the filling inside the rolled pastry, taking care not to reach the edge: doing so will leave some space for the cream which, during cooking, will tend to swell.

25

Knead the leftover pastry with your hands and create strips to place on the surface of the cake, as if it were a tart.

26

Place the pan in a preheated oven, in static mode, for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes at 170 °. Once cooked, take it out of the oven and let it cool before sprinkling it with powdered sugar.

aċċessorji

• Three bowls
• Għarbel
• Whip
• Fork
• pot
• Grater
• Blinder tal-immersjoni
• Mixer bl-idejn elettriku
• Skutella kbira
• Spatula
• Vegetable grinder
• 30 cm baking tray
• rolling pin
• Karta li ma tagħmilx griż
• Sikkina

Għajnuniet u tricks

• To prevent it from swelling too much keep the pastiera in the refrigerator a couple of hours before cooking. Before serving, let it cool well and sprinkle it with icing sugar just before serving.
• Neapolitan pastiera it should be cooked long and slowlythis will favor a cooked filling and a golden and not burnt shortcrust pastry, moreover it will guarantee a better flavor and not of cooked egg.
• Hemm bosta variations to the classic recipe ranging from the addition of custard, candied fruit, or white chocolate to the shortcrust pastry in the internal dough.
• The right ricotta for the Neapolitan Pastiera is that of nagħaġ, as it is fatter and tastier; the only valid alternative is buffalo ricotta, which is also very tasty and with a good percentage of fat.
• Oqgħod attent minn do not substitute candied fruit. Apart from the question of the scent they give to the pastiera, they have a very specific function of releasing moisture to the filling making it soft and moist even in the following days: for this reason it can be kept for many days.
• In the classic recipe we find cinnamon, orange peel, vanilla and orange blossom water; if we wanted an even richer fragrance we can add some ċitru konfettura to the dough.
• If you have a treat that is so special you can recreate small muffins with the addition of flour and a pinch of vanilla yeast. In the event that there are leftover scraps of shortcrust pastry, knead them again and line the molds to torti: pour the cooked wheat filling inside them and sprinkle with some sliced ​​almonds.

ħażna

The Neapolitan Pastiera can be kept at room temperature, in a dry and cool place għal 7/10 ijiem.

storja

The invention of the Pastiera dates back to XVI Century. It was a cake halfway between rustic and sweet in which, in addition to wheat and ricotta, grated Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt, pistachios in musky pink water, pistachio milk, all collected in diluted marzipan paste were provided with other ancient aromas. The cloistered nuns of the convent of San Gregorio Armeno, excellent pastry chefs, mixed the symbolic ingredients of the resurrection and the orange flowers of the convent garden.

In the twentieth century it became a domestic dessert thanks to the easily available ingredients and now the Neapolitan Pastiera is on the tables of all Italians not only during Easter but all year round. Top off your lunch with this exquisite dessert, served after an appetizer of Egg micealso much appreciated by the children of the house and by the classic Spinach and egg pie. In modern tables the pastiera represents the symbol of paċi and is perfect for sharing with family or friends.