Part of my inspiration for this Italian-esque Easter dinner is that I have always wanted to make an Italian Easter ricotta pie. It's like an Italian cheesecake meets rice pudding with a delicious citrus flavor. The perfect way to welcome spring! A lot of recipes incorporate pine nuts too-- which sounds amazing-- however, with Alex's allergy we have omitted those here. I decided to make individual Easter pies for us since they are perfectly portioned and I can make sure that I don't have dessert hanging around for days.
Buona Pasqua!
Ingredients:
For the crust--
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cold
- 3 Tbs. ice water
- 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
- 3/4 cup dry arborio rice
- 12 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. butter, at room temperature
- 1 Tbs. fresh orange zest
- 3/4 tsp. orange extract
- 3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbs. fresh orange juice
- 1 egg and 1 egg white, slightly beaten
Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut cold butter into the flour mixture until well blended and pea-sized. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of ice water over part of the mixture and toss gently using a fork until water is absorbed. Repeat with 2 more tablespoons of ice water (one at a time), until all the dough is moistened. Roll the dough into a bowl and transfer to a lightly floured flat surface.

Gently press the dough cutouts into the bottom of each ramekin. Refrigerate until you are ready to pour in the filling.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix cooled rice mixture, sugar, butter, ricotta, orange zest, orange extract, vanilla extract, and orange juice until combined. Add eggs and stir together until thoroughly incorporated.
These pies can be made ahead of time and should be covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator about a half hour before serving. Garnish however you'd like: with whipped cream, mint leaves, sliced strawberries, fresh raspberries, or additional orange zest.
Inspired by original recipe courtesy of Teaspoon of Spice.
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