Easter Cassatelle Filled with Ricotta from Ragusa – Sicily

We have to admit that we’ve never heard about the tradition to prepare the Cassatelle (Cassateddi in Sicilian dialect) for the Easter celebration. Thanks to Luisa, an Italian Ragusan friend living in Copenhagen, We discovered this pastry which is very simple in its ingredients, but with a fancy shape that makes it different from any other sweets.

If you are still looking for an Easter fuss-free recipe, this is definitely right for you!

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

RECIPE:

Cassatelle filled with Ricotta

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INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

• 400 g (2 and 2/5 cup) Semolina– Semola di grano duro rimacinata
• 2 eggs
• 80 g (1/3 cup) sugar
• 100 g ( 1/2 cup) lard, room temperature, cut in small pieces
• ~ 50 ml (~3 tbsp) water

For the filling:

• 600 g (2 and 2/5 cup) Ricotta Cheese, drained
• 100 g (2/5 cup) sugar
• 1 lemon zest
• cinnamon powder, to taste
• chocolate chips, to taste

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INSTRUCTIONS

• Pour semolina in a bowl along with sugar, eggs and lard and start mixing. Add a bit of water, just enough to make the dough workable, but compact. Knead the dough until forming a ball. Then cover with a film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

• In the meantime prepare the filling. In a bowl place the ricotta along with the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and the grated lemon zest. Mix well all of the ingredients. With an immersion blender (or passing through a vegetable mill) blend it.

• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out finely (~ 3-5 mm) on a floured surface. Then with a pastry ring (~ 9 cm diameter) or with a tea-plate (for bigger cassatelle) placed on the dough cut circles.

• Rise about 1 cm of the dough and pinch with 2 fingers to make an edge. Continue, at a regular distance, to pinch along the entire perimeter of the circle. Try to make as many edges as you can. With your fingers pinch well each edge until the base and lightly press the dough between two edges to avoid the cassatelle to open while cooking. Knead left-over dough to make more cassatelle.

• With a sac-à-poche or with a tsp fill the cassatelle with the ricotta mixture. Add some chocolate chips, to taste.

• Bake ricotta cassatelle in a static oven pre-heated at 200 ° C for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the cassatelle), or until the base is golden brown. Remove from the oven.
• Complete them sprinkling with cinnamon powder!