Pastiera Napoletana di Grano

Ingredients

• For the grano cotto
• 300 g wheat berries (grano cotto, canned or dry-cooked), if canned, drain before use
• 250 ml whole milk
• 20 g lard
• 1 strip orange peel, pith removed
• For the ricotta filling
• 500 g sheep's milk ricotta, pressed through a fine sieve
• 250 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs, whole, lightly beaten
• 60 ml orange flower water, several tablespoons; a definite flavour presence
• 80 g candied citron peel, cut into small dice
• 80 g candied orange peel, cut into small dice
• For the pasta frolla
• 300 g plain flour
• 150 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 pinch fine salt

Method

1. 1
   The day before baking, place the wheat berries in a small saucepan with the milk, lard, and orange peel strip. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the peel, transfer the wheat to a bowl, and cool to room temperature before refrigerating overnight. The wheat is ready when it is soft, creamy, and has absorbed most of the milk into a loose porridge.
2. 2
   Make the pasta frolla: work the cold butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and egg yolks and bring together into a smooth dough without overworking. Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it is firm, pliable, and does not crack at the edges when pressed.
3. 3
   Press the sieved ricotta through once more if any graininess remains. Combine it with the caster sugar, beaten eggs, orange flower water, and the diced candied citron and orange peel. Stir until uniform. The orange flower water must register as a clear floral, slightly medicinal note — taste the mixture and adjust if the character is merely a hint.
4. 4
   Fold the cooled grano cotto into the ricotta mixture, maintaining the proportion of 40% wheat to 60% ricotta mixture. This is where the dish lives or dies: neither component alone constitutes pastiera — the wheat must be distributed evenly, soft enough to yield without graininess, and the combined filling must move as one cohesive mass, neither dry nor loose.
5. 5
   Butter a 26 cm tart tin. Roll two-thirds of the pasta frolla to 4 mm thickness and line the tin, allowing a slight overhang. Pour in the filling and level it. Roll the remaining dough and cut into strips of even width; lay them across the tart in a lattice pattern, pressing lightly at the edges only — the strips rest on the filling, not embedded in it. The lattice should cover the surface in a regular grid visible through the diamonds of filling.
6. 6
   Bake at 160 °C for 45 minutes. The pastiera is done when the lattice is golden and the filling, seen through the diamonds of the grid, is just set with a perceptible, gentle wobble at the very centre. Do not bake to a firm set — the filling will continue to firm on cooling. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
7. 7
   Rest the pastiera at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours before serving. The filling firms, the floral and citrus notes integrate, and the short pastry loses any rawness. The cake is ready when a cross-section holds cleanly and the aroma is distinctly orange flower water over candied citrus, with no eggy sharpness.