Italian Villages – Roman Tart Recipe
Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry
- 2 cups white flour
- 2 eggs
- 5 ½ oz butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/9 oz baking powder
- Lemon zest
Ingredients for the filling
- 1 lb ricotta cheese
- 1 ¾ raisins
- 1 oz pine nuts
- Rum
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- Cinnamon (of your choice)
- ½ orange zest
- ½ lemon zest
Directions
Combine the butter cut into small pieces, sugar and grated lemon zest in a bowl. Mix and, after a few minutes, add the eggs, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix all the ingredients until you get a more solid mixture; then wrap the dough in cling film and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
While the pastry rests, work the filling. Soak the raisins in the rum and, in the meantime, add the sifted ricotta cheese and corn starch, pine nuts, egg yolks, sugar, grated orange and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients and add the squeezed raisins; if you like, add a pinch of cinnamon. Mix everything with a spatula.
After 30 minutes, take the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry board with the help of a rolling pin. Use ¾ of the shortcrust pastry to fill our lacquered Smoothwall container. Prick the bottom with a fork, pour the mixture and close with strips of shortcrust pastry arranged in a grid.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes at 356° F. When the pastry becomes golden, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Cover the Roman Tart with powdered sugar before serving.
