A Ricotta and Pistachio Crostata

Because you might need this for Easter! And greetings from Sicily!! 🌟

Buongiorno from Sicily. 🌟 It’s early AM and the sun is just beginning to peek over the buildings. After a restless night of sleep, I have my first espresso in hand and am sitting on a tiny balcony overlooking the harbor in the seaside port of Castellammare del Golfo in western Sicily. The weather has been a bit temperamental with rain and quite the windstorm over the past few days but this morning, the sun is finally shining again. I am watching and listening to the fishermen down below as they arrive and shout to each other as they work on their boats in the harbor.

View from my balcony in Castellammare del Golfo

After spending my weekend in Palermo, I picked up a rental car at the airport and have made this little port town my home base for a few days. My Airbnb has a fantastic little balcony overlooking the harbor that luckily has righted all the wrongs with this place. (The shower leaks profusely onto the floor, the front door sticks to the point that it is near impossible to open and there is (loud) work going on in the apartment next door.) As I type, I can hear the workmen pulling up their trucks and gathering outside my front door – just before they start to invade my world with hammers and drills. Sigh…better type faster. There is so much to explore in this region. I will send more in upcoming newsletters – from the story of the salt flats to the armloads of recipes – stay tuned!

About a week before heading to Italy, I needed a dessert for a small party. I was googling dessert recipes with ricotta and came upon an Italian recipe from Cookist that married sweet ricotta with pistachio cream- a perfect combination in my book. I luckily had a jar of pistachio cream in the pantry. You can easily find it at your local Italian market or on Amazon. Although the good quality ones can be a bit expensive, it is worth every spoon-licking drop. (I like this one.)

Using the recipe for inspiration, I made a sweet shortcrust pastry, filled it with creamy ricotta and pistachio filling, and then topped it with a layer of whipped cream infused with pistachio cream. And indeed, this was the dessert of my dreams – not too sweet, yet creamy, and delicious.

A few tips on making the crostata: If you haven’t worked with shortcrust pastry (also known as pasta frolla in Italian), it is easy and super forgiving to work with. If the pastry tears, you simply pat the dough into the pan to fix any issues. I use a food processor making it super easy to make (although you could also do this by hand). Once it comes together into a ball in the food processor, you just dump it out, shape it into a disc, and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

I made a classic sweet ricotta filling but added chopped pistachios for texture. (I might have even thrown a few mini chocolate chips in there if I had any.) To make the pistachio whipped cream, I used an immersion blender to make a thick cream that is a bit more stable – a tip that I learned from Serious Eats. You can also use a food processor instead of an immersion blender.

There is so much to love about this dessert – grazie, Cookist, for the inspiration!! For me, this is the perfect Easter dessert…

Time to head out to explore on my last day here in Sicily…wishing everyone who celebrates a beautiful Easter holiday.

Buona Pasqua a tutti, 🐣

CLICK the button below to get the recipe:

or head on over to OurItalianTable.com! And let us know if you do make it!