 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
The city’s Italian bakeries are laying in extra supplies of prosciutto, salami, capicola and mozzarella this week, but not to make into sandwiches. Instead, they form the base for pizza rustica, the savory Easter pie that shoppers will be hopping into stores to buy in the next few weeks. The robust pastry, served in wedges as an antipasto before Easter dinner, is just one of several Italian classics made primarily for this holiday. Pastiera di grano, a sweet bread filled with wheat kernels and ricotta, is another one, as is the colomba pasquale, a dove-shaped bread studded with almonds and candied orange peel. "Pizza rustica is very labor intensive," says Michele Iavarone, the daughter of John Iavarone, of Iavarone Bros. in Queens. "We start baking these a couple of weeks before Easter, and they’re sold in all four of our stores. A lot of people don’t make this at home any more but they still want to have it on the table for Easter." At Rocco Pastry Shop in the Village, which has been in the Generoso family since 1974, pizza rustica contains assorted meats, along with ricotta and mozzarella. "It is rich and it is traditional," says Rocco Generoso Jr. "Our whole family gets together for Easter and we put it on the table before the main course." Generoso’s extended family – including a sister, aunt, uncle and assorted cousins – work with him to fill all the orders every Easter. And they eat the pizza rustica the week after Easter, too. He says that as it’s quite filling, leftover pizza rustica could even be eaten as the main course at lunch, perhaps with salad. For dessert, many Italians opt for a pastiera, which is like a cheesecake flavored with orange flower water and wheat berries. It originated in Naples and often has a lattice design on top. "Pastiera represents a looking forward to spring," says Carolyn Renny, pastry chef and co-owner of Bar Stuzzichini in the Flatiron district. (It will be on the menu for the week leading up to Easter.) Adds Renny: "It’s a prelude to spring and for me, it is a nice way to keep Italian traditions and history alive." Here’s where to buy pizza rustica, pastiera di grano, and other Italian Easter treats. Recipes for two Italian Easter classics follow the list. Iavarone Bros, 6900 Grand Ave. at 69th St. in Queens (718-639-3623) and also at 75-12 Metropolitan Ave. in Queens (718-326-0510). The website is www.IBfoods.com. You can order both pizza rustica and pastiera online; baked goods can be shipped wherever you specify. Rocco Pastry Shop, 243 Bleecker St. between Carmine and Leroy Sts. (212-242-6031). Rocco Generoso, Jr. sells pizza rustica by the pound and by the pan. It costs $8 a pound and the pans are 6, 8 and 10 inches wide. Order online at Grandaisy Bakery, 73 Sullivan St. near Spring St. (212- 334-9435.) Shop here for an excellent colomba Pasquale, a dove-shaped sweet bread that contains almonds and candied orange peel. The large is $25 and the small is $20. Website: Buon Italia, Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave near 15th St. (212- 633-9090). Here you will find the pastiera di grano (filled with wheat kernels and ricotta) along with an excellent pizza rustica made with pecorino and pancetta, in addition to eggs and salami. Website: Villabate Pasticceria & Bakery, 7117 18th Ave. near 71st St., Brooklyn; (718-331-8430). At this longtime Bensonhurst bakery, you’ll find an excellent pastiera di grano as well as pizza rustica. Website: www.villabate.net. (Next week, the bakery is moving to 7001 18th Ave. near 70th St.)
###
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
  |
|
