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March 18, 2006

Notice how we have skipped over the seemingly
obligatory recipe for corned beef & cabbage marinated
in green beer and gone directly to an old family recipe
for an Easter treat that's hard to beat!

Our Aunt Lizzie used to make these AWFUL cookies for Christmas -
hard enough to crack your teeth, tasteless and crumbly when you
could bite them, and iced in a thick, strongly-anise-flavored
icing that brought tears to one's eyes. Mind you, these were not
tears of rhapsodic fulfillment, but tears of genuine pain as the anise
burned your nose and throat and the dry cookie crumbs gathered chokingly
in your bronchia while you coughed and spluttered helplessly.

Presuming, however, that you survived this test of fortitude and fitness,
come Eastertime Aunt Lizzie would plop onto the table the most miraculously
delicious dessert as the finale to an hours-long feast of special dishes 
that Italians cherish at Easter - fagiolino é pomodoro, patate soffritti  
and agnellino marinato. 
This special treat? Pastiera di Pasqua - Easter Pie!
Below is the secret family recipe from Aunt Lizzie's tin box, always kept
hidden away in the back of a cabinet in her tiled kitchen.

By the way, it's not an authentic Lizzie pie without the nonpareils!



Aunt Lizzie's Pastiera di Pasqua

Things to Do Ahead of Time:

Cook 1 cup of white rice according to package directions. Scrape into a small dish or bowl and let cool.

Separate 4 eggs, putting 3 yolks in one small bowl and one yolk in another.
Beat the whites until stiff peaks form.

Grate 2 TSBP fine orange zest.

Put the raisins in a small pan and pour boiling water over them. Cover quickly and set aside while you make the dough.


Make the Dough


½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 reserved egg yolk

2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the egg yolk.

Add the flour gradually, mixing well after each addition.
 
Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
 
Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Make the Filling

1 ¼ cups milk
 
1 TBSP white sugar
 
1 cup ricotta cheese
 
3 reserved egg yolks

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon
 
½ tsp vanilla extract
 
4 reserved beaten egg whites

¼ tsp nutmeg>br>
Colored nonpareils


In a medium saucepan, combine cooked rice, milk, orange zest and 1 TBSP of sugar.

Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is creamy and thick.
 
Remove from heat and scrape into a large bowl.

Drain the raisins well and add them with the ricotta, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well.

Fold one-half of the beaten egg whites into this mixture.

When thoroughly incorporated, do the same with the other half.

Roll out the dough into a 14” inch circle. Spread it over the the bottom and sides of a 9” inch spring form pan.

Scrape the filling into the dough and smooth until the surface is even.
 Sprinkle with ¼ tsp. nutmeg and then with the nonpareils.

Bake in preheated oven for an hour and 15 minutes or until the filling along the edges of the pastry is golden.

Cool at room temperature for about 5 hours. When cool, store in refrigerator.

This pie will keep for several days in the fridge. Cover with plastic wrap after the initial servings are cut.








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