Wheat Easter Pie - Pastiera di Grano
Wheat
1/2 lb dry soft wheat (cover with water and boil 15 minutes. Let soak 24 hours. Then boil 2 hours, cover pot until wheat is soft.)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. grated orange peel
Prepare wheat by covering with 3 cups of water and boil per above 2-3 hours till nice and soft. Add 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. orange rind and boil 5 minutes more, covered, stirring to prevent sticking. Drain and set aside.
Pastry Crust
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. milk
Sift flour, salt and sugar in bowl.
Cut in butter with pastry blender
Stir in 3 egg yolks, mixing with wooden spoon. Add Milk. Work with hands till dough forms a ball. cover and chill about 15 minutes in refrigerator.
Divide ball into 2 parts. Roll each piece 1/8" thick to line a deep 10" pie plate.
grease pie plate and line with pastry with 1/2" overhang.
Roll remaining dough into strips for lattice topping.
Filling
3 cups ricotta cheese (approx. 1 lb.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg yolks, beaten
4 egg whites, beaten stiff
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. orange extract
Beat ricotta and sugar together.
Add the 6 egg yolks, vanila and orange flavor.
Stir in prepared wheat.
Add beaten egg whites.
Turn into pastry shell
Arrange strips of pastry dough criss-cross over filling to make lattice top. Roll bottom edge of overhang up over strips at edge and flute.
Bake at 350ºF about an hour till nicely browned. If browning too fast, place a piece of foil lightly over pie and finish baking.
Source: “The Italian Bakery” by Lee Mangione Cirillo