

Pastiera Napoletana Recipe : Original Italian Pastiera Recipe

Pastiera Napoletana Recipe : Original Italian Pastiera Recipe

Pastiera is a sweet symbol of the Neapolitan tradition where they cross the family traditions and classic pastry school . According to an ancient legend , was born when once on the beach fishermen's wives left on the night of the baskets with ricotta, candied fruit , wheat and eggs and orange flowers as offerings for the "Sea" , so this would leave their husbands come back healthy and safe to land .

In the morning, go back to the beach to accommodate their wives noticed that during the night the waves had mixed the ingredients together and the men to return , there was a cake in their baskets : Pastiera . Surely this sweet , with its classic taste slightly sweet and refreshed by orange blossom, accompanied the ancient pagan festivals to celebrate the return of Spring : the sweetened ricotta is the transfiguration of the votive offerings of milk and honey are also typical of the early Christian ceremonies . in addition to wheat, wish for wealth and fertility and eggs , a symbol of new life .

The water of orange blossom is the announcement of Spring. The modern version was developed in an ancient monastery in Naples remains unknown. Whatever the case , which is still on the table this Easter Neapolitans sweet can not miss. Another well-known story tells of Maria Theresa of Austria , wife of King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, who , yielding to the entreaties of her husband famous for his gluttony, condescended to taste a slice of pastiera smiling for the first time in public . Ferdinand , the Neapolitan Bourbon dece not escape the joke: " To bring a smile to my wife wanted pastiera , now I'll have to wait until next Easter to see her smile again."

So sweet as the pastiera able to wrest a smile even austere Habsburg queen : the secret is perhaps the grain , certainly the use of ricotta in Naples where there is a lot of savings in preparation and that is the secret of absolute softness many of preparation , beginning with pants , fried and baked , and to continue in the tomato paste . The ricotta is in fact a game of bank regarding the consistency which is then the real pleasure when eating pastiera and that makes it different from pizza cream , not surprisingly in inland areas the percentage of grain increases , transforming it into a kind of rural classic cake .

Another element of the pastiera is feeling low sugar , a reference to the palate of a time when you do not preveriva balance the feeling invasive and dominant. This figure does Easter cake something unique, modern and ancient , so classic .
For the combination is necessary to point to something well structured, such as Marsala , too dry, or a raisin Pantelleria. Is also very good sherry.

The classic recipe

For the pastry :

3 whole eggs
500 g of flour
200 g of sugar
200 g of lard
For the filling:
700 g of goat cheese -gr . 600 sugar
400 g of cooked wheat
80 g of candied citron -gr . 80 of candied orange
50 g of candied pumpkin (it's called cucuzzata ) or other mixed candied fruit
a pinch of cinnamon
100 g of milk
30 g of butter or lard
7 whole eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of water of a thousand flowers
1 lemon


First of all, get yourself to the wheat grains , preferably soft , that is fine too hard. Leave it in a bowl for 3 days and remember to change the water in the morning and evening. Then drain and rinse with running water and, when properly cleaned , put it to cook. 500 gr. Wheat is a sufficient pot with 5 liters of water on high heat until boiling. Then lower the heat and continue cooking for about an hour and a half without ever shoot it . When cooked, drain and season with salt to taste .
To prepare sweet corn , of course , the salt does not go aggiunto.Questa cooking is valid for the preparation of all the recipes made ​​with wheat . The cooked grain can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. At the time of use , in order to prepare the desired recipe , bring the water to a boil, soak the corn and boil for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the pastry by mixing all the ingredients , form a Palletta and let it rest . Pour into a casserole cooked wheat , milk , butter and the grated rind of 1 lemon ; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often until it becomes creamy .

Whisk in part the ricotta, sugar, 5 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks, a teaspoon of vanilla , a tablespoon of orange blossom water and a pinch of cinnamon. Work it all up to make the dough very thin. Add grated rind of one lemon and candied fruit cut into dice. Mix everything with the grain. Take the pastry and relax the dough to a thickness of about 1 /2 inch with a rolling pin and coated the pan (ca 30 cm. Diameter) previously buttered , cut the excess part , ristendetela and cut the strips.

Pour the ricotta mixture into the pan , level , and decorated with stripes forming a lattice that pennellerete with beaten egg yolk . Bake at 180 degrees for an hour and a half finch'è pastiera not have taken an amber color .

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