Pastiera napoletana
Prep: 60 minutes, plus 2 days resting time Cook: 3 hours Makes: 8 servings
You can substitute arborio rice cooked al dente for the wheat berries. 1 1⁄4 cups wheat berries Pastry: 1 1⁄2 cups flour 8 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 teaspoon of sugar 1 egg 1 ⁄2 cup cold water Filling: 1 cup milk 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Zest of one lemon 2 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 1 1⁄4 cups sugar 1 1⁄2 cups ricotta 3 tablespoons candied citron 1 teaspoon vanilla Powdered sugar, for dusting
1
Two days in advance: Soak the wheat berries in water to cover for 24 hours, changing water twice.
2
One day in advance: Cover the wheat berries with plenty of water in a saucepan; simmer, covered, until soft, about 1 hour. Drain, cool and store in a covered container in refrigerator overnight.
3
For the pastry: Put flour, butter, sugar and egg in a food processor; pulse until combined. With motor running, slowly add cold water until mixture forms a ball. Place on a lightly floured surface; push down to flatten. Wrap with plastic wrap; chill, 2 hours.
4
For the filling: Place the wheat berries in a saucepan; add the milk, butter and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; cook, stirring constantly until mixture has the consistency of oatmeal, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat; allow to cool.
5
In a bowl, mix eggs, yolks and sugar with a whisk. In a food processor, blend the ricotta cheese, 3 minutes. Fold the ricotta into the egg and sugar mixture with a spatula. Fold in the cooled wheat berry mixture, citron and vanilla.
6
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough disks from the fridge; on a lightly floured surface, roll each out into a 12-inch circle, about 1⁄8 inch thick. Fit one dough circle into a 9-inch pie plate. Cut second dough circle into 10 half-inch strips. Place 5 of the strips over filling. Weave the crust by folding back alternate strips and adding a cross strip. Seal and flute the edge. (Alternatively, use second dough circle as is to top the pie, sealing and fluting the edge.)
7
Bake, 1 hour. Cover with foil and bake, 30 minutes. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Nutrition information per
serving: 601 calories, 27 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 185 mg cholesterol, 77 g carbohydrates, 36 g sugar, 16 g protein, 85 mg sodium, 5 g fiber