Recipe: Wheat Easter Pie (Pastiera di Grano, sweet, The Italian Bakery cookbook, 1980's)

WHEAT EASTER PIE (PASTIERA DI GRANO)

Pastry Dough (recipe follows)
FOR THE 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.)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. grated orange peel
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
FOR THE FILLING:
3 cups ricotta cheese (approx. 1 lb.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. orange extract
4 egg whites, beaten stiff

TO PREPARE THE WHEAT:
Prepare wheat by covering with 3 cups of water and boil per above 2-3 hours till nice and soft.

Add 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tbsp. orange rind, 2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. salt, and and boil 5 minutes more, covered, stirring to prevent sticking. Drain and set aside.

TO FILL AND BAKE:
Beat ricotta and 1 1/2 cups sugar together. Add the 6 egg yolks, vanilla and orange flavor. Stir in prepared wheat. Add (fold in) 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 350 degrees F about an hour till nicely browned. If browning too fast, place a piece of foil lightly over pie and finish baking.

PASTRY DOUGH

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. milk

Sift flour, sugar and salt 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-inch thick to line a deep 10-inch pie plate. Grease pie plate and line with pastry with 1/2-inch overhang. Roll remaining dough into strips for lattice topping.

Makes 1 (10-inch) pie
Source: The Italian Bakery by Lee Mangione Cirillo, Cirillo's Cooking School, 1982