Fresh Ricotta Pie w Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1 pound fresh ricotta

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten, plus 3 large egg yolks, divided

Pinch of coarse salt

1/3 cup chopped candied orange zest

1/3 cup chopped dried cherries

1/4 teaspoon anise seed, ground

1 recipe Pasta Frolla dough

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1/4 cup chopped pistachios, optional

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Cherry Sauce, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment; spray parchment. Mix together ricotta, confectioners' sugar, yolks, salt, zest, cherries, and anise in a bowl.

Let dough sit at room temperature 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out smaller disk of dough 1/8 inch thick; using pan as guide, cut out an 8-inch round. Chill until firm. Meanwhile, roll out larger disk to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick; fit into bottom and up sides of pan, pressing and patching dough as needed.

Spread filling over dough. Fold sides of dough over filling. Brush beaten egg over folded sides. Top with 8-inch disk; brush with beaten egg and sprinkle evenly with pistachios and granulated sugar. Chill 30 minutes. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, about 1 hour (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Let cool completely on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cut into wedges; serve with sauce.

Pasta Frolla:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until just combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together egg, yolk, vanilla, and zest in a bowl; add to flour mixture and process just until dough comes together.

Turn out onto a floured work surface; knead to form a ball. Divide into two-thirds and one-third. Gently press into flat disks. Wrap each in plastic; chill at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Cherry Sauce:

1 can (14.5 ounces) pitted tart red cherries in water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cherry liqueur, such as Luxardo

Drain cherries, reserving liquid. Place cherries in a heatproof bowl. Bring 2/3 cup reserved cherry liquid and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, swirling until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking until reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in liqueur, then pour mixture over cherries. Let cool completely before refrigerating, covered, at least 1 day and up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living's Double Crusted Ricotta Pie

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