A ''pasticciotto'' (; : ) is a type of filled

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

pastry. Depending on the region, they are traditionally filled with either

ricotta Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after th ...

cheese or

egg custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency ...

. In some

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

communities, they are called pusties. ''Pasticciotti'' are approximately thick. They are typically served as a breakfast item, but may also be eaten throughout the day, and are a traditional pastry in Apulia. According to a number of sources, ''pasticciotti'' should be eaten warm.

Composition

Crust

The short-crust pastry dough used to make ''pasticciotti'' was originally shortened with lard, but modern recipes may use butter instead, though this alters the texture of the crust. An

egg wash An egg wash is beaten eggs, sometimes mixed with another liquid such as water or milk, which is sometimes brushed onto the surface of a pastry before baking. Egg washes are also used as a step in the process of breading foods, providing a substra ...

is often applied to the top of each pastry before baking.

Fillings

Fillings for ''pasticciotti'' include the traditional lemon-flavored custard or ricotta, and variant fillings such as almond, chocolate, pistachio or vanilla custard, fruit preserves, '' gianduja'' or

Nutella Nutella (; ; ) is a brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was first introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. History Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, ...

chocolate-hazelnut spreads. An unusual variation filled with ground veal and almonds but topped with sugar, ''pasticciotti di carne'', is a local favorite in the Sicilian town of Patti. ''Pasticciotti di carne'' are similar to the Moroccan ''

pastilla Pastilla ( ara, بسطيلة, basṭīla, also called North African pie) is a North African meat or seafood pie made with ''warqa'' dough (), which is similar to filo. It is a specialty of Morocco and Algeria. It has more recently been spread ...

'' which also combines a meat filling with a sugar topping. In Italy, custard-filled ''pasticciotti'' are the typical variety in Apulia, particularly in the

province of Lecce The Province of Lecce ( it, Provincia di Lecce; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy whose capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-p ...

, where the city of Lecce named the ''pasticciotto'' its typical cake. The ricotta filling is more commonly seen in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. In

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, in southwestern Italy between Apulia and Sicily, custard fillings are common but the ''pasticciotto napoletano'' also includes cherries. Both custard and ricotta fillings can be found in the United States.

History

The invention of ''pasticciotti'' is credited to Andrea Ascalone, a chef in the town of

Galatina Galatina ( el, label=Griko, Ας Πέτρο, As Pètro; scn, label=Salentino, San Pietru), known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy. It is situated ...

, near Lecce, who in 1745 used ingredients left over from full-sized

tortas Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes. Usually, it refers to: * cake or pie in South America, much of Europe, and southern Philippines * flatbread in Spain * ...

to create a smaller cake. The name ''pasticciotto'' allegedly comes from Ascalone himself regarding his creation as a ''pasticcio'', or "mishap". However, recent studies demonstrate that the Ascalone family was not present in Galatina before 1787.

Availability

In southern Apulia, ''pasticciotti'' are sold in bakeries, bars, coffee shops and restaurants. They are also commonly available at Italian-American bakeries in the United States, alongside other Italian pastries such as

cannoli Cannoli (; scn, cannola ) are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from . In mainland Italy, they are ...

and ''

sfogliatelle A sfogliatella (, plural: sfogliatelle; nap, sfugliatella), sometimes called a lobster tail in the US, is a shell-shaped filled Italian pastry originating from Campania. ''Sfogliatella'' means "small, thin leaf/layer", as the pastry's texture res ...

''.

References

{{Pastries Cheese dishes Cuisine of Apulia Custard desserts Italian desserts Italian pastries Tarts