Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (36 page)

PASTRY CREAM

3 cups whole milk

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

6 large egg yolks

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of ½ orange

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

ZEPPOLE

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 tablespoons

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten to blend

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

12 maraschino cherries with stems, drained on paper towels

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1.
To make the filling: Bring the milk to a simmer in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, sugar, and cornstarch together in a medium heatproof bowl. Whisk the hot milk into the flour. Whisk the yolks in a separate small bowl. Quickly whisk the egg yolks into the hot milk mixture. Return to the saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, whisking almost constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let boil, whisking, for 1 minute. Strain through a wire fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the vanilla, orange zest, and lemon zest. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream, pierce a few slits in the wrap with the tip of a knife, and let cool until tepid. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

2.
To make the zeppole: Cut twelve 3-inch squares of parchment paper. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels.

3.
Bring 1 cup water, the butter, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally to help the butter melt by the time the water boils. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the flour all at once and stir briskly with a wooden spoon to make a stiff dough. Stir until the dough is beginning to film the bottom of the saucepan, about 1½ minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat in the eggs in four additions, letting the first addition be absorbed into the dough before adding another.

4.
Fit a large pastry bag with a ½-inch open star pastry tip. Transfer the warm dough to the bag. Pipe a 2¾-inch-diameter circle of dough onto each waxed paper square, with a second ring of dough inside next to the first ring to make a doughnut shape.

5.
Pour enough oil into a large wide saucepan to come halfway up the sides and heat over high heat to 360°F. Working in batches without crowding, deep-fry the zeppole until set and the paper squares can be removed with kitchen tongs, about 1 minute. Continue deep-frying, turning halfway through the cooking, until the zeppole are golden brown, about 2½ minutes more. Using a wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the zeppole to the paper towels to drain and cool.

6.
To assemble the zeppole: Using a serrated knife, cut each zeppole in half horizontally. Transfer the chilled filling to a large pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch, open star pastry tip. Pipe the filling onto the bottom of each zeppole to fill it, and replace the top. Pipe a rosette of filling into the center of each zeppole to cover the hole, and top with a cherry. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, dust confectioners’ sugar through a fine-mesh wire sieve over the zeppole.

“When Frank Sinatra took me to Patsy’s in 1977 I knew 2 things: The food and the family making it would be exemplary. This has not changed since they opened the door in the mid-40s. They are not a good Italian Restaurant, they are one of the best!”—Robert Davi

^◆
Easter Dinner
^◆

Easter Meat and Cheese Pie

Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Prosciutto and Bacon

Steamed Asparagus with Lemon and Butter

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Easter Bread with Colored Eggs

Pastiera Napolitana

Easter had a extra meaning for our family because my grandfather’s name, Pasquale, derived from
Pasqua
, Italian for “Easter.”

For many years, we were closed on Mondays. Easter Sunday was not a day of rest for us, and instead, we celebrated Easter Monday (
La Pasquetta
, or “Little Easter,” a bona fide holiday in Italy.) On Sunday, the restaurant cooked and served the holiday dishes that Italian nationals expected: roast baby lamb, spring lamb stew with peas in egg sauce, rabbit in cacciatore sauce, artichokes, asparagus, and of course,
Pastiera
—a kind of ricotta cheesecake with wheat berries in the filling. Native Italians were extremely discriminating clientele, and then, as now, we had to deliver the goods.

Patsy would always order a couple of extra baby lambs to have for our family’s Monday feast, but invariably, he would have to roast and serve them on Sunday to satisfy the demand, leaving us empty-handed. The next day, we would have to search around town at butcher shops for replacements.

Easter Meat and Cheese Pie

MAKES 12 TO 14 ANTIPASTO SERVINGS

Up until the mid-1960s, religious Catholics abstained from eating meat during Lent. So, when this pie was served for Easter, meat was making its first appearance in six weeks. We would have this as the first course to a long meal for our Easter Monday dinners. Holiday or not, it is a good choice as a buffet main course, too. The “meat” in this pie is sopressata and prosciutto.

DOUGH

2⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or as needed

⅔ cup cold water

One ¼-ounce package (2¼ teaspoons) instant (also called bread-machine) yeast

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Olive oil, for the bowl

FILLING

2½ pounds whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 ounces sweet sopressata, casing removed, cut into ¼-inch dice

2 ounces hot sopressata, casing removed, cut into ¼-inch dice

4 ounces sliced prosciutto (see
here
), cut into ¼-inch dice

½ cup (¼-inch) diced provolone cheese (2 ounces)

4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, ½ cup freshly grated and the remainder cut into ¼-inch dice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

Softened butter and flour, for the pan

1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for the glaze

1.
For the dough: Combine 1⅔ cups of the flour with the cold water, the yeast, and salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed to make a batter. Add the butter and mix until it is absorbed into the batter and the batter is thinner and stickier. Gradually beat in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

To make the dough by hand. Stir 1⅔ cups of the flour, ⅔ cup water, the yeast and salt together in a large bowl to make a batter. A tablespoon at a time, add the butter, stirring until the butter is completely absorbed into the batter; the batter will be sticky. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that is too stiff to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed, to make a soft, supple, and elastic dough, 8 to 10 minutes.

2.
Gather the dough into a ball. Place in an oiled medium bowl and turn to coat the dough with oil, leaving the dough smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3.
To make the filling: Mix the ricotta, sweet and hot sopressata, provolone cheese, grated and diced Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and parsley together in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Beat in the eggs and mix well.

4.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour the inside of a 9½-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch sides.

5.
Punch down the dough. Place on lightly floured work surface and cut into two pieces, two-thirds for the bottom and one-third for the top of the pie. Roll out the larger piece of dough into a 16-inch-diameter round. Fit the dough into the pan, letting the excess dough hang over the edge. Add the filling to the pan. Fold the overhanging dough so it barely covers the edges of the filling. Roll out the remaining dough into a 9½-inch-diameter round. Lightly brush the dough around the edge of the filling with the egg glaze. Center the round of dough over the filling. Press the top and bottom crust together. Pierce a small hole in the top of the dough. Brush lightly with the egg glaze. Place the pan on a large rimmed baking sheet.