Pastiera di Pasqua (Italian Easter Tart with Ricotta)

It’s quite simple to create this chicken salad from Brazil. It has a lighter flavor because mayo isn’t used in its preparation and instead is combined with cream and mustard. fantastic for chicken leftovers.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Additional Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 1 11-inch tart

Ingredients

  1. 1 ⅓ cups cooked wheat grains
  2. ¾ cup whole milk
  3. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  4. 2 medium lemons, zested, divided
  5. 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
  6. 1 ¾ cups white sugar
  7. 2 large eggs
  8. 2 large egg yolks
  9. 1 tablespoon orange flower water
  10. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  11. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  12. ½ cup chopped candied orange peel
  13. 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
  14. 1 large egg, beaten
  15. 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, or more to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring wheat grains, milk, butter, and 1/2 of the lemon zest to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 11-inch tart pan.
  3. Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, orange flower water, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in remaining lemon zest and candied orange peel. Fold in wheat mixture and mix filling until well combined.
  4. Roll out 1 sheet puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so it will fit into the tart pan. Place pastry in the pan and spoon filling on top. Roll out the second puff pastry sheet and cut into 3/4-inch thick strips. Layer a lattice pattern on top of the filling and brush with beaten egg.
  5. Bake tart in the preheated oven until filling is set and lattice is lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool inside the tart pan, at least 1 hour.
  6. Carefully unmold tart, transfer onto a cake platter. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
  7. You can order cooked wheat grain online (such as Fratelli D’Amico) or find it in Italian supermarkets.
  8. The original Italian recipe is in metric measures. If you have a scale, the metric measures are: 250 g cooked wheat grains, 175 ml milk, 30 g unsalted butter, 400 g ricotta cheese, 350 g sugar, and 100 g candied orange peel.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 722 kcal
Carbohydrate 96 g
Cholesterol 144 mg
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Protein 16 g
Saturated Fat 11 g
Sodium 257 mg
Sugars 47 g
Fat 33 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

 

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