
Crumb and Ricotta Pie
Torta di Briciole e Ricotta

Serves 10 to 12
For the filling:
1/4 pound pine nuts, lightly
toasted (110 g)
1 lemon, washed, for flattening
the pine nuts
1/4 cups sugar (250 g)
3+3/4 cups ricotta (30 ounces),
drained (850 g)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
cut in tiny dice (60 g)
2 tablespoons rum
For the crust:
3+1/2 cups all-purpose flour (500 g)
13 tablespoons butter,
plus butter for the pan (200 g)
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup firmly packed brown
sugar (150 g)1 cup finely chopped almonds
(110 g)
1+1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
Confectioners’ sugar to dust
My friend Ada Parasiliti, born in Sicily, reared in Naples and Rome, now living in Milan, gave me this recipe. I use it often, and taught it in my cooking school, where it was very successful, particularly in Rome where ricotta is so good and so popular. If possible, the dessert should be timed so that it does not have to be refrigerated before serving.
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 101/2-inch (27-cm) cake pan 2 inches (5 cm) high with aluminum foil and butter the foil generously.
2 Caramelize the pine nuts: Butter a marble surface or a large platter and place the lemon nearby. Heat ¡¿›cup of the sugar until it is a tawny brown. Add the pine nuts and mix well. Turn out the pine nuts onto the buttered surface and press with the lemon to flatten them. Leave the pine nuts to harden. When ready to use them, break
them up with your hands.
3 Sieve the ricotta or pass it through a food mill, and mix it with the remaining 1 cup sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir in the pine nuts, chocolate, and rum and set the filling aside.
4 Using the dough hook of an electric mixer or your hands, mix together all the ingredients for the crust, the egg last of all. The mixture will be slightly damp. the finished torta5 Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the prepared cake pan,
pat it against the pan, building it up around the sides to hold the ricotta filling. Pour in the filling and smooth with a spatula.
Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top to cover the ricotta completely.
5 Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the prepared cake pan, pat it against the pan, building it up around the sides to hold the ricotta filling. Pour in the filling and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top to cover the ricotta completely.
6 Bake the torta for 45 minutes. Cool on a rack before turning out. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the top just before serving. If there is torta left over, it should be refrigerated.
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