Pardulas
This pardulas recipe from Manuela Zangara hails from the island of Sardinia, where these little ricotta-based tartlets are served up over Easter. Serve warm with sprinkles, or simply dusted with icing sugar.
Ingredients
Pastry cases
- 250g of plain flour
- 15g of lard, or softened butter
- water, lukewarm, as needed
- 1 pinch of salt
Filling
- 500g of ricotta , well-drained
- 30g of durum wheat flour
- 70g of plain flour
- 150g of granulated sugar
- 1 orange , zested
- 1 lemon , zested
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp powdered saffron
- 2 tsp baking powder
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp of milk
Decoration
- icing sugar
- honey
- sprinkles
Method
1
To make the tart cases, mix the flour, lard and salt in a bowl. Add a little lukewarm water and knead well until you have a smooth but firm dough. Wrap with cling film and allow to rest for about 20 minutes
2
In another bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, durum wheat flour, plain flour, baking powder, sugar, egg yolks, saffron, lemon and orange peel. Mix until well-combined to form the filling
3
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
4
With a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll out the tart case dough into a 3mm thick sheet. Using a cookie cutter or a glass, cut out 8cm circles of dough and keep them aside. Repeat for the rest of the dough
5
Take a heaped tablespoon of ricotta filling and roll it into a ball. Put it in the centre of one of the dough circles and pinch the edges of the dough together around it to form a star-shaped shell. Repeat for all the circles of dough
6
Put the pardulas on a baking tray lined with baking paper. In a small bowl, make the egg wash by whisking together the egg yolk and milk, and brush the pardulas with it
7
Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the oven off and leave the pardulas to cool inside the oven with the door ajar for 10–15 minutes, so they don’t deflate
8
You can serve the pardulas plain, you can dust them with icing sugar or brush with honey and decorate them with coloured sprinkles. Pardulas are best eaten lukewarm, but you can also serve them at room temperature. They can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 5 days
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Pardulas
