The ricotta pie is one of the delicacies of Sicilian cuisine, despite having some ingredients such as parmesan cheese and nutmeg, which are not normally included in traditional Sicilian gastronomy. Its usually served as a single course, much like a soufflé, it has a very delicate taste and is usually prepared during the Easter holidays but it can also be enjoyed during the winter, when sheep ricotta cheese is widely available in Sicily. It’s a very easy, tasty dish and well worth making!

Ingredients:

1 kg sheep ricotta cheese
8 eggs, yolks separated from the whites
200 g béchamel
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
Bread crumbs to taste
Butter for greasing the baking pan

Directions

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks are formed, then add the ricotta mixture to the whipped egg whites little by little, whilst gently folding the mixture together.

Pour the mixture into a high sided baking pan, which has been greased and evenly sprinkled with the bread crumbs. Put in a preheated oven at 180 Celsius for about fifty minutes and until the pie is lovely and golden brown. Allow to cool until
tepid , then turn out onto a platter. Serve.

P.S. as said in the introduction, this pie being similar to a soufflé, once it is taken out of the oven it will tend to deflate. Do not worry as this is completely normal.