Ricotta Pie

-LW

Source: The Soprano Family Cookbook

So, we were watching the Sopranos and after watching Carmela use a ricotta pie to strong-arm someone who had never met her daughter into writing a college recommendation letter, I figured I should taste this concoction. I googled a recipe, and found this one from a Soprano's themed cookbook. I assumed it would be gimicky, but the recipe is actually quite good! It's much lighter (and easier) than cheesecake. It's satisfying and creamy, but you don't need to make a water-bath, use a springform pan, worry about the top cracking, or feel like dying after you eat a whole slice. We used some fancy local ricotta to make the pie, but any kind should be fine as long as it's the full fat, whole milk ricotta. Don't try to make this with that disgusting fat free gritty stuff.

I decided to lose Carmela's '90s topping of crushed canned pineapple in syrup in favor of a more elegant blackberry compote. The pie is really versatile, so any topping would work--chocolate, strawberry, peaches, etc.

Ingredients
Pie

1 t. butter, for greasing pan

1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs, crushed finely

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

15 oz. ricotta (one container, usually)

2 eggs

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 T. grated lemon zest

1 t. vanilla

Blackberry Compote

1 c. blackberries

2-3 T. sugar to taste

1 t. cornstarch

zest and juice of half a lemon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-in. pie pan (or spring-form pan if you want) with butter, making sure to put plenty on the sides of the pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs in dish and turn to coat evenly.

Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl. Add all other ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour into pie pan and bake for 50 min. or until edges are set but center is still a little soft. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Mix blackberries with 1 T. sugar and let stand for a while (this step can be skipped if you're short on time). In a small saucepan, cook blackberries, additional sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and juice over medium heat until sauce starts to thicken. Crush berries if you want a smoother texture. Adjust sugar and lemon to taste.

Spread compote over completely cooled pie, and refrigerate for at least one hour.