The Pie Report: Grandmother Concetta’s Ricotta Pie

My grandmother grew up in a home with dirt floors in the village of Caserta, near Naples. She came to America through Ellis Island in the 1930s and settled in Washington Heights, New York City where she worked in the garment district for 30 years. Cooking was a a necessity and a passion. She baked round, thick crusty breads, cut homemade noodles and prepared melt-in-your-mouth ravioli. There were always an abundance of simple sugar/flour/butter cookies and my favorite of her desserts, ricotta pie. Ricotta pie is also sometimes called Easter Pie as it’s a popular holiday tradition. I like to use a ceramic pie pan with crimped edges that make it easier to affect a fancy crust edge.

Baking time: 1 ½ hours

Serving size: one 9″ pie

 

Ingredients:

1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese

3 cups flour

1 ¼ cup sugar

8 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 stick salted butter (8 oz.)

salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9″ deep dish pie pan.
3. To prepare crust,  mix 4 eggs, 1 stick softened butter, 1/2 cup sugar, a dash of salt, and three cups of flour in a large bowl.
4. Blend the dough until it is smooth and then divide the dough into two separate balls. If the dough is too tacky add a small amount of flour so it will roll out easier.
5. In a separate large bowl, combine 1 pound ricotta, ¾ cup sugar, 4 eggs (yolks only at first), 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and ¼ cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips. Fold in the slightly whisked egg whites after adding the chocolate chips.
6. Lightly flour a flexible plastic cutting board and roll out the first dough ball. Use this as the bottom shell of the pie.
7. Pour the ricotta mixture into the pan and trim the edges of the dough neatly.
8. Place in oven and bake until the mixture is slightly firm (30-45 minutes depending on your oven).
9. Roll out the second dough ball and cut into one-inch long strips. At this time you can try and create a lattice with the strips on your cutting board or wax paper and slide it onto the pie later.
10. When the ricotta surface appears slightly solid, remove the pie and either slide your prepared lattice on top of the surface, or quickly create the lattice after removing the pie from the oven. The reason we create the top layer halfway through the cooking is because the crust simply sinks into the liquid if we place it before the filling has firmed up a bit.
11. The crust should still be soft enough to blend the lattice with the edges of the pie pan. Place crust trimmings on a baking sheet and cook for 7-10 minutes for a quick buttery treat while you wait on the pie.
12. Increase the oven temperature to 325 or 350 and bake until the center of the pie comes out dry when tested with a toothpick.  This is often another 30-45 minutes depending on your oven and the temperature. Low, slow cooking yields the best results.

For dessert, this pie is typically served chilled with powdered sugar or sweetened cocoa powder sprinkled on top. I also like it as a breakfast pastry served without the extra sugar sprinkled on top.

Tagged as: easter pie, italian baking, italian desserts, italian pastry, italian ricotta pie, ricotta pie recipe