Italian Sweet Ricotta Pie with Candied Pistachios - Plus How to Make a Perfect Pie Crust

I love Ricotta cheese. I'm not kidding!  I have always wanted to make an Italian Sweet Ricotta Pie, and have never gotten around to it. On one of my favorite food blogs, "Proud Italian Cook" I bookmarked a recipe for a Sweet Ricotta Pie".  An Italian friend of mine told me all kinds of variations of this traditional Easter dessert.  Before we knew it, we had dreamed up a version I couldn't wait to make!

Marie's version-- which looks fantastic-- uses chocolate chips.  I'm no longer chocoholic  (long but true story behind that one, and I've blogged about it before...).   I asked my friend if pistachios seemed like a substitute for the chocolate chips. She shrieked with delight at that suggestion, so a recipe adaption was born! 

How to make a perfect pie crust-- it's not that hard!

You'll want to cut ice cold, unsalted butter, into pieces and add it to the bowl.  Do a few quick pulses-- like about ten.  See?  It's crumbly, and there are bits of butter. This is good!

Now, Add the eggs and pulse repeatedly until the dough begins to stick together. Again, don't overwork the dough. Slowly add the ice water (NOT COLD TAP WATER) by the tablespoonful, while using a few long pulses. Add more drops of ice water as necessary, until the dough holds together well.

Invert the dough onto a floured work surface and divide in half. Form a ball out of each half and flatten into a disc; wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the filling. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before continuing.)  Now, it's time to make the ricotta pie filling.  Ideally, the night before, you'll want to drain the liquid from the ricotta cheese.

I use a fine mesh sieve, over a large bowl....

See?  There's quite a bit of liquid!  

Now, let's prep the ingredients. King Arthur Flour doesn't pay me to rave about them. I just love their products and customer service. I bought this candied mixed peel a few months ago, with the intention of making Stollen. Um, that never happened.  So, here's another reason I jumped at making this recipe-- I could finally use this ingredient that's imported from Italy.

I'm crazy about almond/marzipan. Love it!  That's why I bought this Almond Bakery Emulsion from King Arthur Flour..  This was it's maiden voyage. I have to tell you, that is smells incredible! I did a little happy dance-- almond does that to me. I used two teaspoons of this-- if you use regular almond extract, I'd try 1 teaspoon.  Or, if you don't love almond extract, then go with vanilla.

So, here we are-- orange zest, candied peel, eggs, almond emulsion, vanilla extract, sugar and cinnamon. You like?  You can use a hand mixer, but my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is my "go to". 

Beat the ricotta with the sugar until very smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, almond extract and cinnamon. Last, stir in the candied fruit, and the zest of one orange. Easy!  Put the batter into the fridge and grab one disc of the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Rolling out pie dough, made easy

I have owned many rolling pins in my years of baking.  I still have my mother's traditional rolling pin, that must be 40 years old. I don't use it any longer, because, I have bonded with my French rolling pin. Here is what I finally figured out-- as I begin to roll the dough, I make quarter turns.  Hello?!  I used to roll and roll, and then I'd dig out a spatula to scrape my pie crust off the board-- and tear it!  I finally realized that if I keep turning the dough, it won't stick. Practice makes perfect. If my pin starts to stick, I gently rub a little flour on the rolling pin. If necessary, I give a very light sprinkle of flour to the dough. This dough was very soft, so I had to keep adding a little flour here and there. Gently grab a corner and drape it over the rolling pin (top right photo), and roll "backwards" to wrap the pie crust around the rolling pin. Now, (lower left photo) unroll the dough over the pie plate (bottom right photo). There!  (In the past, I'd fold the dough into fourth's and try to unwrap it-- much to my frustration, I'd break the pie crust).  I hope this helps you fearful pie crust bakers!  This works like a charm for me, and now I enjoy making pies. Would you believe that I'm not the biggest fan of eating pies-- but my husband is!

Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and swirl it with the tip of a knife.

NOTE: My original plan was to roll out the second pie crust disk and to make a lattice on top. However, this dough was very soft to work with, so I abandoned that idea. I had to crimp the dough, after I poured in the filling, which was a little challenging for me.  

I like to cover the outside of my pie crust with foil, so that it doesn't risk burning.  Of course, me being the kitchen gadget junkie, I use a pie crust shield.  I remove this shield when the pie is about halfway baked, which yields a light golden crust.

I'm ready to put this into the oven.... and I set the timer for 45 minutes.  Then I realized.. I forgot to add the cinnamon on top and swirl it with a knife. Aaaaaaaaaack!

So I quickly pulled out the rack, sprinkled some cinnamon and tried to swirl it the best that I could. Not perfect, but it'll do... whew!

 I made Candied Pistachios, similar to my Glazed Pecan recipe-- only I used fresh squeezed orange juice, and some almond emulsion. My goal was to incorporate the same flavors as the ricotta filling. I wanted a little crunch to the pie-- so I finely chopped about 1/4 cup of these and sprinkled them on top about 25 minutes into the 45 minutes of baking-- and I said a silent prayer that my idea would work. By the way, the candied pistachios rock! I'm making pistachio ice cream with there rest of these! My son took home half of them, because he loved them.

After 45 minutes, the toothpick tested clean. It was all puffy, and smelled so good! I allowed it to cool, and then chilled it for about 3 hours.

I have pre-cut 9" round parchment paper that I buy from-- who else-- King Arthur Flour. I decided to use one to make sure that the pie wouldn't stick.  So, the moment of truth--

So far, so good...

The texture was creamy and moist- and the pie crust was perfect (if I do say so, myself)... a moment of silence, please...

I love the texture of ricotta-- creamy, a little grainy... the orange zest with just the right balance of almond... the candied citrus was subtle-- then the crunch of the pistachios... it was slightly sweet, but not over-the-top. I have no idea how authentic Italian my version is... it's a hit in my household. My son loved it, and I was impressed that he was able to identify all the different flavors going on.  The pie crust was tender, and my husband didn't even notice that it was made with whole wheat flour.  I'm liking this pastry flour!

Donna was right-- I enjoyed this with a fresh cup of dark roast coffee.  I'll have one more piece for breakfast, tomorrow.  The rest is going to my husband's office. I don't need this whole pie alone with me-- while I am on vacation.   I can't wait to tell Donna how it turned out.  I hope that they're moving back to California soon. I miss having a Foodie Friend like her!

VARIATION NOTES:  I think I'd like to make this, without a crust. While my husband and son liked the crust, I wanted more of the filling. Donna also tells me that there's a pineapple version that she really likes. I'm intrigued by that!  I'd make this again, and not necessarily just at Easter time. It's very easy to do.

I will give credit to Marie, at Proud Italian Cook a shout of thanks for her inspiration in making my first (and not last) Italian Sweet Ricotta Pie.