Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie

Posted on by Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie

Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie (Pastiera Napoletana) is a tasty sweet pasta pie that is traditionally made for Easter. Made with thin long pasta, ricotta, eggs, milk, and sugar, and it is infused with cinnamon, vanilla, and citrus zest, it is a relatively cheap and easy recipe. Enjoy for your breakfast or as a snack or dessert.

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Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie

Hey folks, how are you doing? I hope this week has been treating you well, and you are ready for the weekend. Myself? Well, as always, I was ready as of Monday, 9 am :)

I have been thinking what to post today – this pasta pie or pasta. On one hand, Easter is just around the corner, so today’s recipe does make sense. On another hand, as I mentioned recently, I do not like posting too many dessert recipes in a row. And this pasta dish is certainly a swear recipe. But then again, it is pasta – something I was considering to post…not to mention, Easter! LOL #FoodBloggersChallanges

Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie

As a few other pasta recipes, I have found this one on the Pasta Project. If you are not familiar with this blog, please do yourself a favour and check it out – it will not disappoint you!

Pasta pies are quite common across different regions of Italy, but this one comes from Naples.

Besides pasta (go with tagliolini or angel hair pasta) and ricotta, you will need eggs, milk, butter, and butter sugar to make this dessert. Also, it calls for cinnamon, vanilla, orange blossom water, orange zest, and lemon zest as flavourings. As you can imagine, the flavour is quite great!

Jacqui (the Pasta Project author) suggests cutting it into six large squares. But I personally liked small pieces – so convenient to grab one or two each time you pass the kitchen :)

Flavour and Texture

However, I must warn that this dessert may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I was a tad skeptical myself first about baked sweet pasta dish (although I do not hate sweet pasta dishes). While baking, the kitchen filled with a fantastic aroma! When I just baked and tried a sliced, my first thought was…mmm that’s kind of peculiar but not bad. But when I tried it the next morning, once it is completely cooled and set, it was absolutely delicious!

Personally, I did not mind the texture at all, but many of you would probably have a different opinion. In fact, Andrew tried a little bite and said “Thank you, no”. According to him, the flavour was wonderful yet he was not excited about the texture. Pasta and dessert is just a dissonant pairing.

So, if you are considering to make this recipe, please bare this in mind. You may want to cut it in half just in case!

More Easter Treats

Are you looking for more Easter sweet inspirations? Then be sure to check the recipes below.

Easter Bars with Eggies

Easter Nest Baked Donuts

Soft Easter Cookies

Easter Nest Coconut Cookies

I hope you like this Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie, and you will give them a try soon. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.

Cheers!

Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie
Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie
Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie
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Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie

Recipe by Ben | HavocinthekitchenCourse: Dessert, Breakfast, SnacksCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6-8

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie is a dessert pasta pie flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla, and citrus that is traditionally made for Easter.
Recipe adopted from the Pasta Project.

Ingredients

  • 250 gr. tagliolini or angel hair pasta

  • 200 gr. full-fat ricotta

  • 1/2 cup (100 gr.) granulated sugar

  • 150 ml. (~2/3 cup) milk

  • 5 medium-sized eggs

  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. (20 gr.) butter + more for greasing

  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

  • 1/2-1 tsp. orange blossom water

  • 1 tbsp. lemon zest

  • 1 tbsp. orange zest

  • a little pinch of salt (optional)

  • Equipment:

  • 9×9 (23 cm) inch pan round or square baking pan

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (360 degrees F.) Grease the pan with some butter and set aside.
  • In a meantime, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until slightly less than al dente. 
  • Drain the pasta and then place it to a large bow and mix with butter. Let it cool for 7-10 minutes then add the milk and mix again.
  • In a separate bowl, blend together the ricotta with the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, orange water, zest, and salt (if using; I always add a pinch to desserts). Add tone egg at a time, mixing well every time to incorporate.
  • Stir in the ricotta mixture into the pasta.
  • Transfer the pasta mixture into a prepared pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The top will turn pale golden-brown, and a knife inserted into it should come out clean.
  • Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely before slicing. You can optionally sprinkle the top with icing sugar, but this pie is already quite sweet. Keep any leftovers refrigerated in airtight container for up to 3 days.

20 thoughts on “Neapolitan Ricotta and Pasta Pie”

  7. sherry says:

    I am intrigued about what is a ‘swear recipe’? I have certainly heard of a sweet baked pasta dish before. Very Italian :) Love those flavours; vanilla is my alltime fave I think!

    Reply

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