Pastiera Napoletana

With Fortunato Conte

Neapolitan Cuisine has many dishes identified with one festival or another, which in the past were made only then. There are several Easter pastries, the most important of which is the Pastiera, a centuries-old dish that appears in innumerable versions, each made according to a closely guarded family recipe. As the legend goes, it is a miracle dish, born of the arrival in port of a grain ship during famine. The people were so hungry they threw the grain directly into the pot rather than grind it and bake bread, creating something similar to this.

It is worth seeing this video if only to see how much cooking craft and technique goes into making it. Most Italians who traditional prepare this cake take from between one and three days to do so, and the results are considered worth it by anybody who eats it.

Chef Fortunato Conte, Pastry Chef at Restaurant Dante and Il Casale, shares many of his tips and baking secrets that go into making this dish as well as baking in general. He recommends, for example, to never overwork the dough and to always prepare the dough on a wooden table if possible. The finished cake is garnished with confectioners sugar by creating a pattern from six cardboard strips.

Fortunato claims that the cake actually tastes better 2 to 3 days after making it because it picks up moisture in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

For the wheat filling (Grano):
1 cup white wheat [presoak 12 to 24 hr] [wash well before cooking]
half pint whole milk
half pint water
1 tsp. salt
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter

For Pasta Frolla (Pie Crust) (makes enough for 2 cakes)
1 grated orange zest
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
1tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
7 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
7 cups all purpose flour

For Pastiera Filling:
1 pound granulated sugar
1 pound ricotta cheese [as dry as possible with water released from the cheese]
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
zest of 1 orange
1 vanilla bean split in half, seeds scraped.
4 whole eggs.
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pound cooked wheat (Grano) that was cooked earlier [freeze the extra grano left over from recipe]
1 teaspoon orange blossom water

Instructions

For the wheat filling (Grano):
1. Bring all the ingredients to a boil on high heat, reducing to a simmer and gently cook until liquids are reduced, about 1 ½ hours.

For Pasta Frolla (Pie Crust):
1. Zest one orange and surround the zest with the flower on a table, preferably wooden, creating a well.
2. Add other ingredients onto center of the well and begin to mix by hand.
3. Once the mixture in the well has become liquefied, begin to gradually mix in the flour until you have a sticky dough.
4. Form the dough into a thick log, wrap very tightly in plastic and refrigerate. Do not over mix and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before using. (Note: When the pasta frolla comes out of the refrigerator, it will be hard to work with. Cut into 3 or 4 pieces and leave it at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, then start working the dough a little until you feel that is completely workable.

5. After refrigerated and when ready to bake with the filling, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface so that the edges extend at least 2 inches beyond the perimeter of a 12-inch baking pan.
6. Fit the dough snugly around the pan and slice excess off the top, reserving the excess dough to make the strips for the top of the cake.

For Pastiera Filling:
1. Mix the sugar, ricotta, salt, vanilla, vanilla bean and orange zest together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
2. Add eggs and whisk thoroughly into mixture.
3. Add grano and fold completely into the mixture with a spatula.
4. Add orange blossom water and blend into mixture.

For the Strips:
1. To top off the cake, you will need to roll out the excess dough left over from the cake pan. Roll out the left over dough into the same thickness and cut six strips of equal width and length to fit the top of the cake.

To Bake:
1. Fill the cake pan with the crust in place up to about ¼ to ½ inch from the top. Do not overfill.
2. Criss-cross the top with the six strips of dough.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 50 minutes in a convection oven or bake at 425 degrees F. in a regular house oven for about 60 to 70 minutes. Make sure you place the pan on to a hot pan before placing into the oven. The oven needs to be at the right temperature when you place the pastiera in to bake.
Note: If the pasta frolla strips sink a little into the filling it will be ok. You can save the extra pasta frolla in the refrigerator up to a month (just be sure that it does not turn dark).
4. It is recommended that you refrigerate the finished cake for up to 24 hours before cutting and serving.
5. Remove from pan by holding a plate and turning it upside down.
6. Cut six strips of cardboard and place over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and remove strips.

Cut with a wet knife to avoid the filling sticking to the knife.

Recipe courtesy of Fortunato Conte, Pastry Chef, Restaurant Dante and Il Casale, 2011.

Fortunato was born in Salerno Italy, just 30 minutes south of Naples. He began working as a baker In1992 for the Pasticceria Pantaleone, one of the oldest Pastry Shoppes in Italy. (A pasticceria is a cake shop, where they have small tables, espresso coffee, tea and freshly baked pastry.) After one year he decided to move on and work for several other pasticcerie in his home town, mastering all of the traditional and regional desserts, including savory items such as filled canastas, focaccia breads, and canapés.

Fortunato went to work for three months in the town of Courmayeur, Northern Italy, as an assistant pastry chef for the Grand Hotel Royal and Golf. It was here, working with master baker Paul Castriscer from Switzerland, where Fortunato realized that there was much more to know about desserts than just regional and classic pastries.

In 1999 he came to Boston and began his adventure working at Il Panino at Franklin Street for Frank De Pasquale. He then managed Biscotti bakery in the North End of Boston for about nine months. In 2001 he went to work for Modern Pastry Shoppe, also in the North End, and remained there until 2008. Fortunato continued his study of pastry baking as a student of the World Pastry Forum in Nashville, TN. He also took several classes with world pastry champions. He continued studying with the New England French master baker at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Fortunato now makes desserts for two well regarded Italian restaurants in the Boston area, Il Casale in Belmont and Dante’s in Cambridge. Working with a Chef/Owner like Dante De Magistris forces him to improve in order to meet the demand for high-quality Italian desserts.