Ricotta Crostata

Photo: flickr user fugzu

Ingredients

1 pound ricotta preferably fresh

4 lrgs egg yolks

2 teaspoons finely-chopped orange zest

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

teaspoon ground cinnamon

All-purpose flour for dusting

batch crostata dough (see below)

2 tablespoons chopped candied orange peel

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

cup superfine sugar

teaspoon coarse salt

pound very cold unsalted butter cut in ½" cubes

Preparation

For the Crostata Dough: Place flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse to combine. Add butter, tossing quickly with fingers to coat each cube with flour. (This will prevent cubes from sticking together, so they will combine more evenly with flour in the next step.) Pulse 15 times, or until butter is size of small peas. With processor running, add 1/4 cup ice water all at once through feed tube. Process for about 10 seconds, stopping before dough becomes a solid mass. Turn onto plastic wrap, pressing dough to form a 7-inch disk. Wrap dough completely, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough may be

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg yolks, orange zest, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 11-inch free-form circle. Transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle with candied orange peel. Spread with ricotta, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Lift border up and over filling to form sides of tart, letting dough drape gently over filling. Crease or fold the border every 4 to 5 inches to enclose the filling.

Bake crostata until dough is golden and the filling is just set, 12 to 15 minutes.

Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve while still warm.

This recipe yields 1 nine-inch tart.

Yield: 1 nine-inch tart