========== FOR THE FILLING ===========
1 Carton; (15 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese
1 Package Farmer's cheese; (7.5 ounces)
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoon Flour
1 Egg; lightly beaten
1/4 Cup Romana Sambuca Liqueur
1/2 Cup Pine nuts; preferably toasted*
1/4 Cup Finely diced candied orange peel or other dried
fruit
1 Cup Dried cherries; cranberries or golden raisins
Egg wash: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon of milk
2 Tablespoon Confectioners sugar for garnish
*To toast the pine nuts, set them in a 400 F. oven
for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on them; they turn from golden to burned
in seconds.
You'll need a round cake pan, preferably with a loose
bottom, 9 inches in
diameter and 11/2 inches deep.
TO MAKE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a food processor, combine
the flour,
sugar, salt and process until blended. Add the butter
and process until
broken into the flour. Add the eggs and ice water to
the flour and process,
by pulsing several times, until the dough comes together.
If the dough seems
dry, add another teaspoon or so of ice water. Turn the
dough onto a board
and gather it into a ball. Flatten the dough slightly,
wrap it in waxed
paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Flour a pastry board and rolling pin. Remove 2/3's of
the dough and roll it
into a circle about 1/4-inch thick and 11 inches in diameter.
Line the cake
pan with the dough, pressing it into the bottom and up
the sides of the pan.
If it breaks apart, don't worry, just press it back into
shape. Roll the
remaining 1/3 of dough into a circle about 3/8 -inch
thick and 10 inches in
diameter. Divide this circle into 10 strips, each about
1/2-inch wide; this
will be for the lattice top.
FOR THE FILLING: In a food processor, combine the ricotta
and farmer's
cheese, sugar, flour, egg and Sambuca and process until
smooth. Transfer the
filling to a mixing bowl and fold in the pine nuts, candied
orange peel and
cherries, or golden raisins and transfer this to the
dough-lined cake pan.
Lay 5 strips of dough across the ricotta filling and set
the other 5 strips
across them, at a 45 angle, to form a lattice.
With a pastry brush, paint
the lattice top and edges with the egg wash.
Set the cake pan on a baking pan and bake for 1 hour or
until the filling
has set and the crust is golden. Remove the cake and
cool it thoroughly on a
rack before unmolding. Right before serving, shake the
confectioners' sugar
through a sieve to completely coat the top.