CookEat Recipe
Neapolitan Ricotta and Almond Pie
A covered shortcrust pie filled with ricotta, finely ground sweet almonds and lemon-scented custard, served cold.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 280 g plain flour: 250 g for pastry, 20 g for custard and up to 10 g for rolling; 130 g butter: 125 g for pastry and 5 g for the tin; 125 g icing sugar: 110 g for pastry and 15 g for finishing; 50 g caster sugar; 2 whole eggs: 1 for pastry and 1 for custard; 3 egg yolks: 1 for pastry, 1 for custard and 1 for glazing; 150 g ricotta, drained if wet; 70 g blanched sweet almonds, finely ground; 100 ml milk; Finely grated zest of ½ lemon.
Step 2
For the pastry, mix the 250 g pastry flour with 110 g icing sugar. Cut in the softened 125 g pastry butter with a knife, then add one whole egg and one yolk. Bring together with minimal handling; do not knead. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Butter a 22 cm pie tin with the reserved 5 g butter.
Step 3
For the custard, whisk the remaining whole egg with the caster sugar and 20 g custard flour, then gradually add the milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring continuously, until thick and gently bubbling; cook for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, immediately stir in the custard yolk and lemon zest, then return briefly to gentle heat while stirring until at least 74°C. Do not leave the yolk uncooked.
Step 4
Stir the ricotta and finely ground sweet almonds into the custard. Spread in a shallow clean bowl and cool promptly until no longer warm, refrigerating as needed. Use sweet almonds throughout; an optional few drops of commercially prepared food-grade bitter-almond flavouring can supply the historical aroma without raw bitter kernels.
Step 5
Heat the oven to 175°C. Roll a little more than half the pastry to about 3–4 mm thick on the lightly floured surface and line the prepared tin. Spread the cooled filling evenly inside. Roll the remaining pastry for a complete lid, keeping small scraps for simple decorations. Moisten the edges, seal the lid, add the decorations and make a small steam opening. Brush with the glazing yolk.
Step 6
Bake for about 35–45 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked underneath and the filling is set. Cool, then refrigerate within 2 hours. Serve cold, dusted with the remaining icing sugar. Keep covered at 4°C or below and use within 2–3 days.
Step 7
For Artusi’s alternative half-quantity pastry A, replace only the pastry ingredients with 250 g flour, 110 g icing sugar, 90 g butter, 35 g rendered lard, one whole egg and half a beaten yolk. Mix with a knife, handle minimally and chill for 30 minutes as above. Use the other half of that yolk for the lid glaze instead of the separate glazing yolk; the filling and its eggs remain unchanged. The same amount of extra tin butter and rolling flour is still needed. For the alternative aroma, replace the lemon zest with about ½ teaspoon vanilla extract in the custard.
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