Italian Ricotta Pie-Gluten Free Version

My Aunt Nora was the baker in the family. She was always whipping up a cake or a new cookie recipe. She made beautiful trays of cookies for special occasions, baking for days. When she passed, I found her “recipe book”, a small notepad where she handwrote all of her recipes, half in English and half in Italian. I look through the book and try to decipher not only the handwriting, but also which recipe it is. Her description of the recipe would be something like "Biscotti di Maria" (Maria's cookie) or "Biscotti bianco con le noce" (white cookie with nuts)

At Easter time, she would always bake sweet yeast bread with confectioner sugar icing and ricotta pie. The ricotta pie was lighter than cheesecake and was crustless.  She would bake it in either an 11x13 or a round glass pyrex baking dish, greased and “dusted” with crushed graham crackers. But, as best as I can remember, all the filling ingredients were gluten free!  This would be a perfect gluten free dessert. I looked for the ricotta pie recipe in her recipe book but it wasn’t there.  Then it occurred to me, it was so simple, she had the recipe memorized no need to write it down!   I remember watching her make it when I was a child, and tasting the batter before it was cooked, it was so good! I remember a whole dozen eggs (yes 12!) a large container of Ricotta cheese, sugar, a shot glass of whiskey, grated chocolate, and grated citron. Simple. The baking dishes were greased with butter, then finely crushed graham crackers were spread around the sides and bottom, but only enough that would stick, similar to dusting a pan with flour. This dusting was so light that I knew I could eliminate it and the cake would be fine.  I decided to use vanilla instead of the whiskey, and as far as looking for citron, (I used to pick it out anyway), I used orange zest instead. It was as good as I remember, and it was a huge hit with the family! The texture is lighter than a traditional cheesecake and the orange zest and chocolate perfectly complement each other! This is a great, simple gluten free dessert that everyone will love.

Italian Ricotta Pie  
Printable Recipe

12 eggs
3 lbs whole milk ricotta
2 cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla
2 tsps orange zest
1/2 cup grated milk chocolate

Beat the eggs in a large bowl with a mixer, add the ricotta, sugar, vanilla and orange zest, beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate. Pour into a greased 11x13 glass baking dish (or 2 round ones) and bake at 350 degrees for  1 hour.  Cool.

Gluten Free Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

One of my favorite things about Greek Easter is the Greek Easter Bread, Tsoureki. It is a sweet bread with a citrusy flavor that is absolutely wonderful toasted! The interesting flavor of the bread comes from Mahlepi, an unusual Greek spice with a  distinctive, fruity taste. The finely ground powder is made from the inner kernels of fruit pits of a native Persian cherry tree.The sweet smell fills the house as the bread is baking! 

There are gluten free substitutes for many foods, but not for this bread. So since I have been gluten free, all I could do was enjoy the amazing smell of the bread at Easter dinner. This year I decided to try to make a gluten free version. I knew the texture wouldn't be the same, but if the taste and smell were the same, I would be happy.

Since I don't have much experience converting baking recipes to gluten free, especially not breads, I searched for a recipe that was already converted. Not many to be found. But I came across this one from poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com. It looked like the bread I craved and the recipe seemed easy enough.  However, the magic spice was missing, easy enough to add it! I found the Mahlepi easily on Amazon. You can probably find it in a Greek specialty store by the baking ingredients. It makes all the difference in this bread!

The preparation was easy enough.

The dough is very sticky to work with. It wasn't easy rolling it into ropes to make the braid. I was afraid to add too much flour while I was shaping it because I didn't want it to be heavy. So my braid isn't very neat! I thought it would rise more, maybe I needed to let it rise a little longer before I baked it.

The familiar sweet smell filled the house as it was baking and I hoped it would be edible!!! I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it and it did taste like the bread I remember! Of course the texture was more cakey but it was very light.  Can't wait to try it toasted!

Gluten Free Greek Easter Bread    

Makes 1 large loaf

1 cup warm milk (about 110-115F)

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 cup white rice flour

1 1/4 cup tapioca starch

Add'l tapioca starch for kneading

2 tsp xanthum gum

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp to 1 tsp Mahlepi powder

2 eggs at room temp

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (See below for alternate method)

In a bowl or 2 cup glass measuring cup, warm the milk, check temp. Mix in the yeast and sugar. Set aside to proof for 5-7 minutes.

Whisk together flours, starch, xanthum gum, salt, zest and Mahlepi in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, vinegar, vanilla and butter. Remove 2 tbsp, add 2 tbsp. water, this will be the egg wash for the top.

Add egg mix and yeast mix to the flour mix. Beat 2-3 minutes until smooth. Dough will be sticky. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Dust a flat surface with tapioca starch and knead each piece 3-4 times to make it less sticky. Don't over knead or add more flour, this will make the dough heavy. Roll each piece into a rope the length of your baking sheet. Place the pieces next to each other on the baking sheet, pinch the ends and braid.

Cover with a clean dish cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes until doubled in size. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top with the egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

2017 update!

I found these silicon Challah pans on Amazon. No need to braid the dough. Just fill and bake. The recipe makes 2 loaves. Beautiful braids!

Gluten Free Pastitsio

Next week is Greek Orthodox Easter.  Having married into a Greek family, I celebrate Greek Easter each year.  The date is different from Catholic Easter because the Greeks base theirs on the Julian calendar.  Over the years I have enjoyed many of the traditional Greek dishes at our Easter celebrations. Now that I am gluten free, I am looking for ways to convert these recipes so that I can enjoy them too.  This year I am making gluten free Pastitsio and attempting for the first time, gluten free Greek Easter Bread (check back next week!)

Pastitsio is simply Greek lasagna. It is a pasta layer, a meat layer, topped with Bechamel sauce. Every Greek has their own favorite recipe, each one a little different. My source of Greek recipes has always been from a cookbook given to me when I was first married, Foods of Greece, which was put together many years ago by the Greek Ladies Philoptochos of Middletown NY (thank you Aunt Helen , Sandy and Lea). It is a collection of all the Yia Yia's classic Greek recipes handed down from generation to generation. It's a great place to get the basic recipe and build from there.

There are only 2 ingredients in the original recipe that are not gluten free, flour in the bechamel sauce, and the pasta . So, you can use your own favorite recipe, just substitute cornstarch for the flour in the Bechamel sauce and use gluten free pasta.

This is an easy recipe, but because you're making three different layers, you will use a lot of pots! The Bechamel is the most intimidating part, but don't let it keep you from making this, it's well worth the effort. Remember to keep stirring over low heat to keep it smooth, and slowly add the egg yolks, whisking the whole time, so you don't get scramble eggs!

Gluten Free Pastitsio   Printable Recipe

Meat sauce layer
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs ground beef
1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp cinnamon ( trust me, you'll love the flavor it gives the sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions and  garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the meat and sauté until browned. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for  30 minutes.

Pasta layer
1 lb gluten free ziti, penne or rigatoni
2 tbsp butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 egg whites, beaten (use the yolks for the béchamel)

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, do not over cook, as it is going to further cook in the oven. Drain, return to the pot, add the butter cheese and the egg whites. Set aside.

Béchamel Sauce

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 cups hot milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt/pepper to taste
3 egg yolks

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth, don't let it brown. Turn the heat to simmer and slowly add the hot milk, stirring constantly, cook until thickened and smooth. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Temper the egg yolks with a little bit of the sauce, and slowly stir into the sauce until completely
blended.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a deep lasagna pan (approx 9 x13) with cooking spray. Spread the pasta mixture on the bottom of the pan. Next, spread the meat mixture on top of the pasta. Cover with the Bechamel Sauce. Bake for 30 minutes until browned on top. Allow to sit before serving.