December 10: Ricotta Pie

Ricotta Pie

I am a mutt as many Americans are…my families ancestry on one side is, as my dad would say, “very waspy.”  His father’s family landed on the shores of N. America sometime prior to the American Revolution and my paternal grandmother came from Anglo-Germanic roots also landing on N. American shores quite early.  The other side of my genetic tapestry comes from my mom’s family, 50/50, Russian and Italian.  Both families arriving in America in the early 1900’s, dirt poor and chasing the American dream.  When my Russian grandfather married my Italian grandma, his father disowned him for having polluted the bloodline.  Fortunately, the Italian side of the family was much warmer and welcomed my grandpa into the fold. The food I grew up was as diverse as my lineage.  My mom was a fantastic cook and she always managed to whip up amazing meals.  I feel fortunate to have been spoiled by good food on the one side because as much as I loved visiting my paternal grandmother, the meals were never spectacular even if the company was good.  Instead, a trip to anyone on my mom’s side of the family where the Italians were the dominant force, was always a feast.  

My grandma always told me that she never really learned to cook until her sister married into another Italian family.  Why not you ask?  There wasn’t much food.  They were poor…extremely poor and while their saving grace was a garden, there were times that they went hungry.  My Russian grandpa was poor too, but his dad was a line cook and managed to scrape by and taught him how to cook.  When my great aunt married into a middle-class Italian family, and my grandparents were married, life began to change.  My grandpa went to work in my great uncles construction business where he started digging ditches and moving rocks.  Through hard work he was trained to do other things and moved up the line.  My grandma also worked as a seamstress and pattern maker.  Between the two of them, they epitomized the American Dream, they built a house together, had a solid family and there was finally food on the table.  Both of them cooked and the many of the recipes that I came to love as a kid came thanks to the family my Auntie Rose joined and Aunt Amalia’s cookbook, “Cucina Magica.” I received this cookbook from my mom on my 18th birthday and from time to time, I return to the recipes that were so familiar in our home. 

My mom also believed that “sugar was the devil,” her words…We never had sweets at home unless they were made from scratch and even then they were rare, (I learned to bake when I was 8 which helped a bit) but every now and then, mom would make something special that she enjoyed too from Aunt Amalia’s cookbook, and I think it’s time to share the love. Here is one of our families favorite recipes, Sunta’s Ricotta Pie.  I don’t know who Sunta was, but I am thankful her recipe has been passed down.  Here’s what you’ll need

Sunta’s Ricotta Pie

Preheat your oven to 350° (170°C)

Very special crust: 1 ½ cups flour

1 ¼ tsp. baking powder

  ½ tsp. salt

    4 T. melted butter

    1 egg lightly beaten

    ½ tsp. grated orange peel

    1 T. orange juice or bourbon

Blend all the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.  Blend the liquids together and add to the flour mixture.  If it’s still a little dry, you can add a bit of water.  Roll it into a thin circle that fits into a standard pie dish, trim the edge and crimp it with a fork.

Filling: 16 ounces of Ricotta cheese

½ cup cooked rice (cooled)

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend all of the ingredients together and pour into the crust. Bake for 50 minutes turning the pie halfway through so it cooks evenly.  When the center is firm, it’s done.  

This pie is best at room temperature or chilled and is best if made a day ahead. 

Enjoy!

Join Lisa on December 15 at 11am PST to bake this traditional treat!