One of the classics of Jewish-Roman cuisine is this tart.
Myth has it that in 1775 the Papa issued an edict that prevented Jewish shopkeepers from selling dairy products to Christians. So it was that bakeries began making tarts with two pastry shells so that they could not see what was inside.
Even today in the historic Boccione bakery, the tradition of having a tart not with a grid but with a compact cover is still maintained. This cake has also become well known on social media, and all foreign tourists line up from early morning to buy a slice. The problem for us Romans, however, is finding the pastry shop open: in fact, it opens only in the morning on weekdays.
The particularity of their tarts is: a pastry that remains soft and very little buttery and cow’s ricotta cheese.
The recipe that I have been remaking for years now is closer to my taste than Boccione’s, especially I use sheep’s milk ricotta, which I love.
Ricotta and sour cherry tart
- Preparation time: 180 minutes
- For a 24-cm mold
- Difficulty: Average difficult recipe
- Ingredients
- For the shortcrust pastry:
- 280 grams of all-purpose flour
- 70 grams of powdered sugar
- 100 grams of butter
- 1 yolk
- 1 egg
- Grated peel of lemon and orange
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- For the filling:
- 500 grams of sheep’s milk ricotta
- 140 grams of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 grams of sour cherry jam
- 1 yolk with 1 tablespoon milk for brushing
- Instructions
- Drain the ricotta well in a colander, preferably left overnight in the refrigerator. Sieve it. Add the sugar and mix well with a whisk until it becomes a cream.
- Prepare the pastry. In a bowl, briefly mix butter with sugar and grated lemon and orange peel, then add eggs and sifted flour with baking powder. Mix just until it is no longer sticky. Roll the mixture into a ball and cover it with cellophane. Place it to chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Roll out between two sheets of baking paper half the dough. Roll out between two more sheets of baking paper the other half of the dough. Leave them in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill again.
- In a buttered and floured tart pan, place a well-chilled disk of short crust pastry. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, trim off any excess pastry and stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork. Place a layer of sour cherry jam, the ricotta cream and close with another layer of short crust pastry. Prick the top with a fork as well to prevent it from splitting in baking.
- Beat the egg yolk with milk and brush the surface of the tart.
- Bake in a hot oven about forty to fifty minutes or at least until the surface is nicely browned.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- The ricotta-sour cherry ratio in that pastry shop Boccione is about 1/4. I, on the other hand, prefer the sour cherry to be very noticeable, so I put a little less ricotta cream.
- The timing of the baking is approximate because every oven bakes differently. The tart should not darken too much.
