Bubba's Ricotta Pie

Ricotta Pie could also be known as Baked Cholesterol. It isn't made often, but each Easter, Julie Pascal Grove bakes this traditional dish. Based on the quantities, it appears that this recipe makes at least four pies; we all know Italians generally don't cook for only four people, especially at Easter. Either halve the recipe, freeze some pies, or do it the DeLucia way and invite over a ton of people.

Ingredients
16 eggs
2 cups sugar
lemon or vanilla extract
3 pounds Ricotta Cheese
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
milk (optional)
4 tsp baking powder
salt

Directions for the filling:
Beat 12 eggs. Add 1 cup sugar. Add lemon or vanilla extract. Put aside until dough is ready.

Directions for the dough:

The recipe, hand-written by Bubba

Mix 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup shortening. Add 1 cup sugar and mix. Add 4 teaspoons of baking powder and salt. Mix some more. When it is well-mixed, dig a well in the flour mixture (like the opening of a volcano), crack in 4 eggs and 2 teaspoons lemon or vanilla extract into center and mix until the dough is firm.

Once the dough is ready, add 3 pounds of Ricotta cheese to the filling. If it seems too thick (this depends on your taste and preference), add some milk (1/2 to 1 cup).

Somewhere in here you'll obviously roll out the dough and then add the filling. Unfortunately, the recipe doesn't include these specifics, so you're on your own for this.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Then reduce to 325 degrees.


Wrap foil around the edges of the pies so they don't burn. Bake the pies for at least one hour.

Next, the recipe written by Bubba reads, "Kitchen oven 300 degrees, cellar oven 225 degrees."  The thermostats on one or both of Bubba's ovens obviously didn't work correctly. It sounds like 300 is the correct temperature.

When they are cooling, cover the pies with a Mopin (aka, kitchen dish towel).

There is another Ricotta Pie recipe in the family history, which uses roughly the same ingredients in different quantities. The main difference is that one can choose to add orange peel, chocolate chips, and/or maraschino cherries to the filling.

Contact Julie Grove to clear up any of the ambiguities on this one, and good luck!

Cin dun!