In a previous post I mentioned how pastieri is one of my favourite Easter dishes to make simply because it's so easy. This dish was passed down to me from my Calabrese Nonna Filomena. Other than our family, I've never seen it made by anyone else.
Mix all ingredients together before baking.
In Naples they make something called pastiera, which is completely different from our recipe. Go to the Napoli Unplugged blog for a mouth-watering collection of recipes. The Sicilians make a pastieri but it's a stuffed pastry, which looks fantastic, but still not like ours.
From what I've been told, after immigrating to North America, my Nonna's cooking was greatly influenced by her Neapolitan sister-in-law who was a wonderful cook. Could this be where the name came from? I'm guessing this recipe is a combination of influences of Italian immigrants from other regions, along with the availability of ingredients in a small city at the time they immigrated.
Whatever the reasons, it's a lovely food tradition that finds its way onto the table at family reunions reminding us of how we're connected.
If you've made pastieri or recognize this dish, please leave me a comment. If you try this for the first time, let me know about it.
Cut in rectangles and serve cold. Eat with your hands.
The recipe
Pastieri makes an interesting addition to an Easter Brunch. It keeps well in the fridge, making it a good prepare-ahead dish.
- Cook 1 lb (or 500 g) linguini in salted water. Once cooked, rinse in cold water to cool (so it won't cook the eggs when they’re mixed together). Drain well.
- Beat 1 dozen eggs
- Add:
- Grated cheese, 1 cup or more of parmesan, use romano if you like a stronger cheese
- Italian parsley, chopped, 1 bunch or 1/2 cup (to your liking)
- Black pepper, to taste
- Mix all ingredients together and let rest for about 20 minutes.
- Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Press down on the pasta mixture with your hands (to get the air out) and smooth the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and cool.
- Serve cold, cut into rectangular pieces. Eat with your hands.
Enjoy!
11 comments:
thanks Deb
my mother left me the recipe but vague on quantities and how to get that consistency.
I cant wait to try your recipe its exactly what i wanted.
And thanks Mel for finding Deb!
Arnold
Funny how many recipes there are out there for this...I can't wait to try yours it looks delicious.
Thanks for your comments. I hope it worked out for you both.
My parents make this exact same dish - they are from the Salerno region, and it's one of my favourites.
Maria
Surrey, BC
OMG!This is my Grandma's pastiere. The only difference was she didn't use ricotta but I do, I added it to the recipe years ago. Also we used two pounds linguine per 1 dozen eggs (or 6 eggs for 1 pound). We let the pasta cool before adding the eggs (don't drain all the water before cooling).
Paul, I'm glad to hear your Grandma makes the same dish. Our pastieri is not sweet, like so many I've found online. I wondered if it was a regional dish or maybe the name changed over time. Thanks for your comment.
Pretty similar to my mom's old family recipe! Her's uses less eggs and less pasta, but adds in cheddar, more parm-romano blend, and mozzarella. Looks the same and you also eat it cold- with your hands!
Just made some for Easter- yum!
My husbands family makes something very much like this but slightly sweet. They add 1/2 c sugar and 1 tsp vanilla to this recipe. When done it tastes a little like rice pudding!
Thank you for sharing your family recipes. They all sound delicious.
I really loved reading the receipes. I want to make something simiar to this one. My kids will love it.
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My mom is Filomena but from Naples. We do this with small cooked pasta n cut up pieces of dry Italian sausage. Eggs, ricotta, cheese n parsley.
Great anytime of the year n day.
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