Pastiera Napoletana

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Batali obviously has never seen a Pastiera! The Farro is too chewy
For this thing and with a spoon of cinnamon his creation
Should be called just .... CINNAMON! Why bother putting
All the other ingredients!

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I didn't try the recipe, so it's possible that it's tasty in its own right, but true pastiera Napoletana doesn't use lemon zest--which is why I'm giving this 2 stars for calling itself something it's not. The authentic recipe uses *candied* citron or lemon peel, and sometimes will include candied orange peel. The candied fruit can be bought at some specialty shops, but I don't recommend getting the waxy, artificially colored stuff you find in supermarkets. To candy the fruit yourself is labor-intensive and time consuming, but well worth it for those who want to really experience this traditional dessert at it's best. The candied fruit has a quite different character from zest. Also, the highly concentrated vials of Fior d'Arancio (paneangeli brand is excellent are wonderful and you only need one vial, which doesn't add so much moisture to the cake as 1/4 C of flower water. The traditional crust is largely flavorless and rolled extremely thin. Not so easy to work with, I find.

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My mom and I made this for Easter this year. We used her Italian recipe for the filling but tried this recipe for the crust. I wish I had read the other reviews, which suggested adding some cold water to the dough. Otherwise, it's a crumbly mess that doesn't stick together easily. It also wasn't enough for both the bottom and lattice on top. I ended up using a recipe from La Cucina Italiana to make the lattice and sides of the crust. It was an easier crust recipe, stuck together nicely and rolled out easily.

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This was a good, standard italian easter grain pie recipe. Tasty. I only gave it 4 stars as 5 stars is reserved for my grandmother's easter pie! I also substituted grated orange peel for the lemon peel like my grandmother did. Other than that I made no substitutions. The dough is not bad (as another reviewer said - it is a typical pasta frolla dough (with eggs and sugar - however I did need to add a couple of tablespoons of cold water to get the dough to come together -other than that the dough was fine. I wound up using this recipe because my grandmother did not save her recipes (and she passed away ... this was a great substitute, very similar to my grandmother's.

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This was time consuming, but fun to try, and definitely tasty! (Of course it's easier to buy a pie, but where's the satisfaction in that? :

Other than all the time it took to soak the wheat, the crust was the hardest part (isn't it always?. Actually, I have to say it wasn't all that hard, but I did cheat and use a food processor. Mixed dry ingredients, then pulsed in butter, finally blended in egg yolks. Dumped all of that on a flour-dusted counter, and agree with the previous poster -- it was a crumbly mess. A little ice water firmed things up nicely, though. A lot of kneading was also helpful. :

My only other comment on the recipe was that I thought it had way too much cinnamon. My husband and daughter disagreed, but they've never had the wheat pie my dad used to buy from a family-owned Italian bakery in New Haven.

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I followed the crust recipe to a T and what a mess. The crust crumbles everywhere and rolling it our was a nightmare. Don't make this crust!! I should have gone to the Modern Pastery Shop in Medford, MA and bought one for $14.00. My Mother was born and raised in Naples, Italy and is the geatest cook ever. She couldn't find her recipe and too bad for me. What a mess!!!!