easter menu 2018

Follow our tips to prepare a delicious savory pie with asparagus, ham, olives, and cream.

Savory Prosciutto and Asparagus Pie

asparagus

puff pastry dough

2/3CUP milk

2/3CUP cream

2OZ. sliced prosciutto cotto (or ham)

1OZ. oil packed Taggiasca olives, pitted and chopped

eggs

salt

pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.&nbsp;

Trim the asparagus with a potato peeler and parboil them in salted water for 6-7 minutes. Drain and let them cool in a bowl of ice water.&nbsp;

Thinly slice 1/3 of the asparagus tips and 2 whole asparagus stalks and purée the rest with the cream, egg, milk, salt, and pepper.&nbsp;

Line a square baking pan (8" x 8" or an 8" or 9" round pan) with the puff pastry dough. Add in the chopped prosciutto, sliced asparagus, and chopped olives.

Pour the cream on top and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and remove from the pan. Garnish to taste with more olives and raw asparagus slices.

No Neapolitan Easter meal would be complete without pastiera on the table. Whole wheat berries are cooked in milk until creamy and mixed with ricotta, sugar, eggs, candied citrus and orange blossom essence for the filling. It is absolutely intoxicating. 

Pastiera Napoletana (Traditional Neapolitan Cake)

4CUPS all-purpose flour

lard

1 2/3CUPS sugar

2CUPS milk

21OZ. sheep’s milk ricotta cheese

wheat berries

citron and orange, diced

vanillin

vanilla pod

orange blossom extract

lemon

cinnamon

orange

Cook wheat berries in boiling water for 2 hours. Drain and cook with milk and 1 tsp. cinnamon, a little orange zest and 1/2 vanilla pod until the milk is absorbed (around 15 minutes); alternatively you can use 1 lb. pre-cooked wheat berries (grano cotto); heat in 1 cup milk along with the other ingredients for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.&nbsp;

In a large bowl mix flour, lard, 2/3 cup sugar and a pinch of salt until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add 2 eggs and mix with your hands until combined. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. Place in the refrigerator in a bowl sealed with plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes.&nbsp;

Preheat the oven to 340 °F.&nbsp;

Mix the ricotta with the rest of the sugar, adding it a little at a time. Separate 2 eggs and set the egg whites aside. Beat yolks with the ricotta mixture. Add 4 whole eggs, one at a time, and whisk until incorporated. Add a little lemon and orange zest, candied fruit and 2 Tbsp. orange blossom water.&nbsp;

Remove the vanilla pod from the cooked wheat. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the ricotta mixture along with the cooked wheat. For a creamier filling purée some of the cooked wheat berries.&nbsp;

Grease and flour a cake pan (ø 10", h 2 1/2".), preferably a springform pan. Roll out about 2/3 of the dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/4" thick. Place in the springform pan. Cut off any overhang to add to the remaining dough. Roll out remaining dough and cut into 10 strips around 1" wide. Fill the dough with the ricotta mixture. Lay the pastry dough strips across the top in a criss-cross diamond pattern. Press the strips gently to adhere on the edge of the pastry. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 8 hours in a dry place.

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Savory Prosciutto and Asparagus Pie

Pastiera Napoletana (Traditional Ne...

Top 2 easter menu 2018 recipes from across the web

The most viewed easter menu 2018 recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Savory Prosciutto and Asparagus Pie

Pastiera Napoletana (Traditional Ne...

The most viewed easter menu 2018 recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine