Pastiera: the Easter dessert in Campania

During the Easter period in Campania, as in the rest of Italy, there are religious festivals, representations and events. But the most authentic traditions can be found in the kitchen and especially in typical sweets. In addition to the classic chocolate eggs and doves, there are countless sweets on offer. One of the most delicious Easter traditions of Campania, and of course also of the Amalfi Coast, is undoubtedly the pastiera. Famous and appreciated all over the world, it is the dessert that can never be missing from the Easter table. Not only because it is delicious but also because it holds a long and meaningful history.

For those who don’t know it (is there anyone who really doesn’t know what it is?), the pastiera consists of a traditional shortcrust pastry base, filled with a mixture of ricotta cheese, sugar, lard, cooked durum wheat, eggs, millefiori water and vanilla, the top of which is decorated with the remaining shortcrust pastry cut into strips, which are intertwined in the shape of a St Andrew’s cross. This is how the traditional, textbook recipe looks like. However, over time it has undergone several variations which, from the dough to the filling, to the shape and the way of presentation, have distorted the original idea. On the coast, in addition to the classic pastiera, the pastiera amalfitana is widespread. The latter is enriched, if ever there was a need, by custard, which makes the filling even creamier and more delicious.

The origins of the pastiera are lost in the mists of time. Legend has it that it was the siren Partenope who created this delicacy. She used to dwell in the Gulf of Naples and every spring would emerge from the waters to greet the happy people who populated the gulf, cheering them with songs of love and joy. Once her voice was so melodious and sweet that the entire population rushed to the sea bearing gifts to thank her. Parthenope liked these gifts so much – flour, ricotta cheese, eggs, wheat, orange flower water, spices and sugar, i.e. the ingredients of the pastiera – that she decided to take them to the gods. Impressed in turn, the gods put the various ingredients together to create the first pastiera.

Legend aside, what is certain is that the pastiera as we know it today was born in the 16th century in the ancient Monastery of San Gregorio Armeno, where a nun wanted to prepare a cake to celebrate the Resurrection that would mix ingredients typical of Christian symbolism (eggs, ricotta cheese and wheat) with Asian spices and the scent of orange blossom from the monastery garden. The goodness of the cake was such that from then on, the nuns began to make it in large numbers for the nobility and the rich bourgeoisie.

Small curiosity. The story goes that Maria Theresa of Habsburg, second wife of Ferdinand II of Bourbon, never smiled. Until, at the insistence of her husband, who was known to be very greedy, she tasted a slice of pastiera for the first time and her sadness melted away with a big smile. From that moment on, she only had to repeat that gesture for a note of joy to print itself on her lips.

Unique in its flavour, the pastiera is a delicacy you will find hard to resist during your Easter trip to the Amalfi Coast.