Desserts w/ Pork

[Pontormo]

From what I understand about copyright law and eGullet policy, the following is legitimate. I will be paraphrasing a recipe I have not tried, but do want to give credit to both the author and the book: Mimmetta Lo Monte's Classic Sicilian Cooking was published by Simon & Schuster in 1990 in tribute to her family and heritage. Photographs, history and recollections punctuate each chapter. Here's something from the section devoted to crostate, or pies, in the final chapter devoted to Dolci; "maiale" translates as pork:

PASTICCIO DI MAIALE

Pastry

3/4 c sugar

1/8 t salt

2 3/4 c A-P flour

8 T unsalted, cold butter

3 extra-large eggs

Filling

1 3/4 pounds lean pork loin, ground

1/3 c water

4 more X-L eggs, separated

2 c sugar

2 c cocoa

1 1/2 c toasted almonds, ground coarsely, skins left on

1 c ground citron (or conserva di zucca*)[This sounds excessive. Taste & adjust.]

1 t cinnamon

Zest of 1 orange

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

White from an additional egg for brushing and sealing the pie

Butter for coating

Flour for dusting

Oven: preheat to 350 degrees F.

1. Make pastry: Mix first 3 ingredients. Cut in butter till consistency of breadcrumbs, then add eggs just until dough adhers. This can be done in food processor. Chill in fridge for 30 mins. wrapped in wax paper.

2. While waiting for dough to chill, prepare filling by first adding 1/3 c water to pork and saute around 10 mins. until completely cooked & no longer pink Pork should be in fine crumbs, not clumps. N.B. Original recipe says cover and cook pork for 30 minutes, but this seems excessive to me for today's pork. I leave judgment up to you since I have not tested recipe.

3. Once meat is cool, mix in egg yolks, sugar, cocoa, nuts, citron, cinnamon & zests until thoroughly blended.

4. Divide chilled dough into two pieces, one 2x bigger than the other. Coat a baking dish measuring ca. 12 x 7 inches with butter and dust with flour. Roll out larger ball of dough and line dish or pie plate. Brush bottom with egg white. Roll out the remainder of the pie dough and have it ready to fit over the top.

5. Whip the 4 egg whites till stiff. Gently mix them into the park mixture. Place filling onto the crust, moistening edges with egg white. Cover with reserved pastry. Seal and crimp edges. With knife, make 3 rows of cuts on the top crust to allow steam to escape.

6. Bake for 40 mins. Increase temperature to 375 degrees for 15 more minutes. Let cool before serving.

Sounds cool? Guy food for watching The Sopranos ? Please make, photograph and post pictures along with comments.

*Squash conserve sometimes made with watermelon rind or chayote squash by Italians stuck in other lands.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Pontormo (log)