Looking for the cheesy variation of the Italian pie? Find out what makes a great Italian cheese pie and how to go about making it for your selves.
Easter celebrations in Italy sees the Italians preparing a special treat for themselves in the form of a pie. The traditional Easter pie was prepared in many different ways throughout the different regions of Italy. With time as more and more people experimented with this classic Italian dish there resulted enormous varieties in the styles of the Italian pie. Amongst the many different varieties of the Italian pie is the Italian cheese pie. This is a true delight for cheese lovers. As it is the Italians are known to have a special love for cheese and an overwhelming variety of different kinds of cheese. The Italian cheese pie is a world famous treat that is not just reserved for the Easter or the Christians for that matter and is enjoyed by a large portion of the world’s population.
The things that make up an Italian cheese pie
The good thing about the Italian cheese pie is that it does not involve a lot of fancy ingredients rather a select few items make up this delicious treat. You will need the appropriate items to make the crust if you are not going to be buying the pre-made crusts from the super market. You will need general items like sugar, apple juice, salt, soy margarine, Agar-agar flakes, sweet sherry sauce, ice cold water and grated lemon peel. All these ingredients are easy to find and shouldn’t cost you that much either. You will need some olive oil to prepare your cheese pie and some additional ingredients like pine nuts, fresh lemon juice, golden raisins and vanilla extract.
Getting started with the cheese pie
If you want to save time then it is a good idea to buy yourselves pre-made graham cracker crust that will suffice just fine. To start off you should pour in flour, salt, sugar, lemon peel and mix it using a fork until it is all well blended. Add a sprinkle of Marsala and a table spoon of water over the crumb mixture. Keep tossing gently and add water until you can press the mixture with your hands. Make it into a ball flatten it slightly and tightly wrap using plastic wrap. Refrigerate this and meanwhile preheat your oven to 350F. You will be required to roll your dough into an 11 inch circle and fit the crust into a nine inch pie plate while trimming the edges. Prick the crust with holes using a fork.
Add a pie plate over the crust filing it in with beans and bake until 30 minutes. Add the pine nuts after roasting them golden brown. On the other hand you will have to prepare a mixture containing raisins and Marsala. Then you will begin with the process of preparing the filling for the pie. This is probably the most intensive process of making the Italian cheese pie which will require you to work fast with all the remaining ingredients like agar-agar flakes, apple juice and tofu. You will be adding sugar, processed almonds, lemon peel and oil to prepare a mayonnaise like mixture which will be a little grainy. You will fill in the crust with this liquid and let it set in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. The Italian cheese pie tastes best when served at room temperature after it has set.
