CUCINA: La pastiera napoletana
La Pasqua è alle porte e quindi è tempo di dolci pasquali e tra i tanti dolci di Pasqua italiani, ce n'è uno che ci piace proprio tanto tanto tanto: la pastiera napoletana. Ecco cosa ne dice a proposito The Silver Spoon: Naples and the Amalfi Coast:

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA
Pastiera napoletana, an Easter delicacy, has both Roman and Greek provenances.
It is said that the cheesecake-like dessert comes from baptism ceremony breads made with milk and honey during Constantine's reign. The cake was said to symbolize resurrection and new life, common themes during Easter. Another legend is of locals honoring the siren Parenope - who emerged from the Gulf of Naples every spring - with offerings of the traditional pastiera ingredients. She then took the ingredients to the gods under the sea, who mixed them together to create pastiera napoletana. Most likely, the cake was created in a Neapolitan convent.

While pastiera is a common accom-paniment to coffee, the lengthy baking process marks it as a festive treat, meant to be savored. For it to be ready in time for an Easter feast, the cake had to be made before Maundy Thursday or Good Friday because of the lengthy cooking and cooling times.

These days, pastiera is made with pre-cooked grain, or grano cotto, a jarred product created for the sole purpose
of making pastiera. (Extremely rare outside of Italy, cooked pearl barley or wheat berries can be substituted.) The cooked grain is reheated slowly in milk until creamy and plump. It is this ingredient that creates pastiera's  unique personality.

The creamy wheat is then combined with eggs, ricotta, orange blossom water, cinnamon, and vanilla to make a filling. Candied citron or zucca candita, candied pumpkin, is added for texture and sweet-ness. The filling is placed in a pastry crust and lattice strips of dough are woven over the top.The cake is baked and then cooled for at least a day. Modern versions of this cake use pastry cream in the filling, creating a softer, fluffier texture.

Al contrario di quanto dice il libro, il grano cotto si trova abbastanza facilmente nelle salumerie italiane qui a Sydney. Noi la compriamo a Haberfield da Zanetti 5 Star Gourmet Deli o dall'IGA di fronte a Zanetti.

Ma qual è l'origine della pastiera napoletana e soprattutto da dove nasce il legame tra il grano e il concetto di rinascita? Ce lo spiega sia La Cucina Italiana in un articolo super-interessante (clicca sull'immagine in basso), sia il nostro antropologo in cucina, Marino Niola in un video pubblicato su La Repubblica:

E, per finire, sono tantissimi i video che spiegano come preparare la pastiera napoletana. Eccone alcuni e, soprat-tutto, buona Pasqua! (Aprile, 2025)

AGGIORNAMENTO: ecco la nostra pastiera di quest'anno. Era un po' meno spessa di quanto avremmo voluto, co-munque era buonissima!!!