Italian Cheese Pie Recipes

ITALIAN SAVORY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center. Prepare crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal. With processor running, add eggs and process until dough comes together and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Prepare filling: In a large bowl, stir together ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, mozzarella, prosciutto, parsley, and pepper; set aside.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll larger piece into a 12-inch circle; gently transfer to a 9-inch glass pie dish. Place filling in pie plate and spread evenly; set aside.
• Roll remaining dough into a 9-by-9-inch square; cut into 1/2-inch wide strips. Using strips, form a lattice pattern over filling. Trim bottom crust, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Crimp edges to seal. Brush with egg, and bake until filling is firm, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Stir together ricotta and 6 eggs until smooth.
• Stir in sugar, vanilla, heavy cream, milk and cinnamon.
• Set aside filling.
• In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and sugar.
• Cut in butter with pastry blender until chunks resemble coarse crumbs.
• Mix in lightly beaten eggs and vanilla extract just until incorporated.
• Divide dough in half, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll out dough to fit into 2 greased pie plates.
• (Not too thick though, because this dough will expand due to the baking powder and eggs.)
• The dough is crumbly so I don't suggest fluting the edges.
• Pour the ricotta filling evenly into both pie pans.
• Shield edges of crust all the way around with foil and place pies in the oven.
• Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and rotate pies if needed so they cook evenly.
• Bake an additional 30 - 45 minutes, until crust is golden and a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely, then refrigerate before serving.
• Optional: garnish with whipped cream and lemon zest if desired.

RICOTTA PIE (OLD ITALIAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Beat the 12 eggs, 2 cups sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese and the chocolate chips, if using (see Cook's Note). Set aside.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and 1 cup sugar together. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 4 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two deep-dish pie plates.
• Roll out 2 of the balls to fit into the pie pans. Do not make the crust too thick, as it will expand during cooking. Do not flute the edges of the dough. Roll out the other 2 balls of dough and cut each into 8 narrow strips for the top of the crust. (Alternately, you can use cookie cutters and place the cutouts on the top of the pies.)
• Pour the ricotta filling evenly into the pie crusts. Top each pie with 8 narrow strips of dough or cookie cut-outs. Brush top of pie with milk for shine, if desired. Place foil on the edge of crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes; remove foil. Rotate pies on the rack so they will bake evenly. Continue to bake until a knife inserted in the center of each pie comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more. Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate until serving.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE | PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the flour, cold cubed butter, olive oil, egg, and salt. Pulse just until the mixture is combined; it should resemble coarse sand. With the food processor running, pour 4 tablespoons of cold water in and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball.
• Lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Dump the dough on to the plastic wrap and press together into a disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
• In a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients, and mix until combined. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide the dough into two pieces: two-thirds for the bottom crust and one-third for the top crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough into a circular shape. Carefully place the dough in a greased springform pan and line the insides and bottom with it. You can use any scrap pieces to fill in the gaps in the pan.
• Pour the ricotta filling into the crust. Use a spatula to smooth and even it out.
• Roll out the remaining pie crust into a circle. Place it over top of the ricotta filling. Trim any excess overhang and use the side crust to roll over the top crust of the pie. Brush the pie with a beaten egg and make a small "x" shape in the middle of the pie to allow steam to escape.
• Place the pie on the middle rack of the preheated oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for about 75 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for five minutes before removing the collar; let sit for another 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• In a food processor combine the dry ingredients and pulse a few times.
• Add the cut-up butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse ground meal.
• Add the slightly beaten egg and pulse until the dough starts coming together.
• On a lightly floured wooden board, turn out the dough and form into a smooth disc, by pressing dough together.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixer) beat the ricotta on low speed with the paddle attachment until smooth (approx 30 seconds). Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
• Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat for another 30 seconds or so.
• Add the lemon zest, cinnamon, liquor, and 1 egg.
• Beat until the egg is properly incorporated. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Continue to add one egg at a time, making sure to properly incorporate into the mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
• Set aside while you roll out your dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Place oven rack to bottom third.
• Roll out the dough to fit your pie plate (9-inch). The thickness should be about 1/8 of an inch. Carefully fold over and fit into your pie pan.
• Pour the filling.
• Optional step: Decorate with strips of dough and brush tops of dough strips with milk.
• Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the center filling is set. Place foil on the edge of crust to prevent over-browning.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Refrigerate until serving.

ITALIAN SPINACH-COTTAGE CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch pie plate.
• Combine cottage cheese, spinach, mozzarella cheese, eggs, red peppers, Parmesan cheese, and oregano in a bowl. Pour into the prepared pie plate.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the center of the pie is set, 35 to 50 minutes.

ITALIAN RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring 2 or more quarts of water to boil on stove. In the bottom rack of the preheated oven, place a baking dish such as a 9×13-inch baking dish and fill with the hot, boiled water. Place another oven rack directly over that to next rack position.
• In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and sugar. Stir to combine.
• In a smaller bowl combine egg yolks, milk, olive oil, and both extracts.
• Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour in liquid. With a wooden spoon, mix to combine. (If the mixture gets too difficult to combine with a wooden spoon, used your hands to finish mixing).
• Flour your countertop well and place the dough ball in the center, pressing to form a round disc. Keep flouring, pressing and flipping. Flour a rolling pin and gently roll to a circle an inch or two larger than a deep dish 9-inch pie plate.
• Either fold the dough in half and place over half the pie plate, flipping other half over or roll the dough onto your rolling pin than back over the pie plate. Again, the dough is soft and delicate so be gentle.
• Use your fingers to form and press the dough into the confines of the pie dish, crimping the top edge all the way around (as you would any other pie) by pinching with thumb and index finger. Set aside, the shell is not pre-baked.
• Make the filling by placing the ricotta in a large bowl and mixing in sugar until combined.
• Add whole eggs, egg whites and vanilla and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. If lumpy, use a wire whisk to smooth out.
• Pour directly into unbaked crust. Cover the crust edge with foil or pie crust shield so the edges don't get too browned as the pie bakes.
• Place pie in the center of oven on the rack over the water bath and bake for one hour and ten minutes. Turn off oven but leave the pie in the oven for ten more minutes. (Don't open the oven door during any of the time that the pie is in the oven.)
• Carefully remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. (Cool completely before refrigerating - if you put the pie in the refrigerator while still warm, it will weep slightly and collect moisture on top.) Chill overnight uncovered.
• Once chilled, cut and serve.

ITALIAN CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• In a very large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except crusts.
• Mix well, making sure that all ingredients are distributed through the ricotta mixture evenly.
• Spoon the ingredients equally into the pie crusts.
• For a more decorative look, apply strips of pie crust to the top of the pie in a basketweave pattern.
• Bake at 350 degrees until the top of the pie is a dark golden brown and the center is set, approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes.
• Allow pies to cool for about 45 minutes before slicing.
• Serve warm or cold.