Lemon-Ricotta Crostata with Mascarpone

There's almost always a ricotta pie of some sort on our Easter table. When I was growing up it was my mother's pastiera, a lattice-topped torte filled with a mixture of fresh ricotta, beaten eggs, sugar and cooked wheat berries, and flavored with a dash of cinnamon and a splash of Punch Abruzzo. I liked it. It's possible I didn't love it (shhh).

I like a simpler ricotta crostata. For years I made the recipe from my first book, The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy. (For those of you wondering why the heck a book on soups and stews would contain a dessert recipe, the book is organized by season and, since I always like to end things on a sweet note, I included four seasonal crostata recipes ~ apple for fall, jam for winter, ricotta for spring, and apricot-cherry for summer.)

The original is a fine recipe, but I'm a tweaker by nature. It's not so much a quest for perfection as it is the simple enjoyment I get from those small changes and improvements, from all the variations that present themselves as possibilities. Which is how I ended up with this latest version. It has extra lemon zest and mascarpone whipped into the filling. The sweet cheese makes it a little fluffier, a little creamier, and the zest brightens the flavor.

The filling puffs up quite high as the crostata baked, and then settles back down once the tart is out of the oven and cooling on a rack. Sort of like it is taking a deep breath, then exhaling. There’s something quite satisfying about that.

LEMON-RICOTTA CROSTATA WITH MASCARPONE
Makes one 9-inch crostata, to serve 10

Ingredients

For the dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large whole egg
2 large egg yolks

For the filling
8 oz fresh sheep’s milk ricotta or well-drained cow’s milk ricotta
8 oz mascarpone
1 large whole egg
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for serving
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon, plus 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Make the dough
1. Put the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine. Distribute the butter around the bowl and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the whole egg and egg yolks and process until the mixture just begins to clump together in the work bowl.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead it together. Without overworking it, shape the dough into a disk, patting rather than kneading it. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until well chilled.

3. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other. Rewrap the smaller portion and return it to the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the large portion into an 11-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick or slightly thicker. Carefully wrap the dough around the rolling pin and drape it over a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the rolling pin or the flat of your hand to press around the perimeter of the pan to cut off any excess dough. Put the lined tart pan in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

4. Heat the oven to 350° F.

Make the filling
1. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mascarpone, whole egg and yolks, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and zest. Using a stand mixer or a handheld beater, beat the ingredients on high speed for about 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined and fluffy.

Assemble and bake the crostata
1. Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator. Scrape the filling into the shell and smooth it with a silicone spatula. Roll out the reserved piece of dough into a 10-inch round about 1/8 inch thick or slightly thicker, and cut it into 3/4-inch-wide strips with a fluted pastry wheel. Carefully place the strips over the filled tart shell in a lattice pattern, gently pressing the ends of the strips into the sides of the tart shell. Use any remaining strips to form a rim around the perimeter of the crostata.

2. Bake the crostata for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is puffed and just set. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Remove the ring of the tart pan and let the crostata cool completely before transferring it to a decorative platter. Dust liberally with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

NOTES: This recipe will leave you with four leftover egg whites. Don't toss them! Use them to make these meringue cookies or this pavlova. You will also likely have leftover dough. Gather the scraps into a ball, wrap and chill. Then use the dough to make these nutella sandwich cookies.

If you don't plan to serve the crostata within a couple of hours of baking, cover with foil and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come back to room temperature before serving (although it's also really good cold).