STARTER: Cold cuts, cheeses, bruschetta with tomato, mozzarella, ricotta, rustic. FIRST COURSE Lasagna / cannelloni SECOND DISH Chicken / Lamb SIDE DISHES Baked potatoes / salad / green beans / peas SWEET DESSERT Pastiera / Easter dove A typical sweet I chose from my tradition is the PASTIERA. FOR THE SHORTBREAD PASTA: 250g of 00 flour 100g of sugar 100g of butter 1 egg 1 pinch of salt FOR THE STUFFING 200 g of cooked wheat 150 g of whole milk 2 spoons of butter 200 g of cottage cheese 150 g of granulated sugar 1 ampoules of orange blossom aroma 3 eggs peel of a lemon 50 g of candied fruit 1 sachet of vanillin cinnamon METHOD
FOR THE FARCIA (pre-cooked wheat cream) Put the cooked wheat, whole milk, 1 teaspoon of butter and 25 g of sugar in a non-stick pan and cook everything for 15 minutes, over moderate heat. Stir often with a hand whisk to prevent the mixture from sticking. Once ready, it will look like a cream. Let it cool completely. FOR THE PASTA In a large bowl, put the sieved flour. Then add the sugar, a pinch of salt, the chopped butter and the egg. Work the mixture first with a fork, then knead with your hands until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous. Form a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Divide the yolks from the whites and beat the egg whites until stiff. Pass the ricotta through a sieve and put it in a large bowl together with the remaining 125 g of sugar and 1 teaspoon of butter.
Mix everything together and also add the egg yolks.
Blend briefly with electric whisk. Also add the pre-cooked wheat cream (previously prepared), lemon zest, orange blossom aroma, a light sprinkling of cinnamon and vanillin. Blend for a few more minutes. Finally, add the citron and candied orange and the egg whites beaten until stiff. Gently mix by hand, with the help of a wooden spoon or spatula, so as not to disassemble them. Switch on the static oven at 170 ° C Butter a 24 cm mold. Dust the work surface with flour and work 3/4 of the shortcrust pastry, keeping a little bit for the strips on the surface Spread the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured parchment paper, and transfer the shortcrust pastry over the pasta mold, stick well and remove the excess pastry. Pour the filling inside and with the remaining pastry, form the strips to be placed on the surface. Bake in the preheated static oven 170 ° C for 1 hour and 20 minutes. The cooking of the pastiera is quite long, so that both the pastry and the filling are perfect. After the hour, check with your oven so that it does not become too golden. The history of the pastiera According to legend, the mermaid Parthenope had chosen the Gulf of Naples as her home, from where her melodious and sweet voice spread.
To thank her, a mysterious cult was celebrated, during which the population brought seven gifts to the siren: flour, a symbol of wealth; ricotta, a symbol of abundance; eggs, which recall fertility; wheat cooked in milk, to symbolize the fusion of animal and vegetable kingdom; orange flowers, the scent of the Campania region; spices, homage of all peoples; and sugar, to celebrate the sweetness of the siren song.
Partenope liked the gifts, but mixed them creating this unique dessert.
Curiosity In Campania the term pastiera does not always refers to the paschal pastiera, but is generically referred to dishes, sweet or savory, packaged by mixing eggs and cold cuts with pasta (usually spaghetti or vermicelli), enriched with spices such as pepper and cinnamon. Often this dish is also called "macaroni omelette" and is an elective dish in spring outings. More than a "poor" variant, as it is without ricotta, of the wheat pastiera, another way of defining the Neapolitan pastiera, it could be related to older sweets packaged with threads of almonds or flour, then replaced by durum wheat spaghetti .
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