A favorite post which my new and old subscribers may enjoy in preparation for Easter.
Southern Italians celebrate Pasqua or Easter with the gamut of ricotta type pies ranging from savory to sweet. Campania is famous for a mildly sweet wheat berry pie called Pastiera; a crostata made with ricotta cheese, cooked wheat grain and delicately scented with the flavor of orange blossom. Although Pastiera is a staple on the table for southern Italians at Easter, our preference has always been the Crostata di Ricotta, often referred to as the Italian Cheesecake….
Panna cotta that ethereal puddle of cream originating in Piemonte should be an essential part of everyone’s world. Perfectly prepared panna cotta, or “cooked cream”, an elixir of gently warmed lightly sweetened milk and/or cream, subtly flavored, chilled and held together with just enough gelatin to create a faint wobble when touched with a spoon. Saffron Panna Cotta, a staple at Babbo New York City was Gina De Palma’s flavor rif on the classic dolce and remains a signature dessert on the menu to this day.
