Crostata di Ricotta – Cheese Pie

Okay, cheese and pie.  Enough said. It has to be good.  Said to be one of the oldest Roman dishes.

This recipe comes from an Time Life Book on Cooking from Italy about 1968. The whole series was called Foods of the World. 

Double crust pie shell.

5 cups ricotta (2.5 pounds)

1/2 sugar

1 T flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp freshly grated orange peel

4 egg yolks

1 T raisins rinsed and drained

1 T diced candied orange peel

1 T diced candied citron

2 T slivered blanched almonds or pine nuts

1 egg white mixed with 1 T water for egg wash.

1 partially baked pastry shell

Ricotta Filling: Combine the ricotta cheese with  1/2 cup  sugar, 1 T flour, 1/2 tsp salt, vanilla, grated orange peel adn egg yolks and beat until they are thoroughly mixed. Stir in raisins and the candied orange peel and citron.  Spoon the filling into the partially bakked pastry shell, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the top with slivered almonds or pine nuts, then weave or crisscross additional pastry strips across the pie to make a lattice top design.  Brush the stips with egg white and water wash.  Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is golden and the filling is firm. 

Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool, leaving the bottom disk of the pan in place.

Serve with fresh fruits like white grapes.