An Italian Ricotta Pie

Vanderbilt Italian Professor Tracy Barrett shares her Torta di Ricotta regularly with friends and now, us.

Writing groups, book clubs, knitting groups, you name it. They all must clamor over Tracy Barrett. You see, Tracy typically brings her Torta di Ricotta with her when a group potluck is planned. “I’ll bring the dessert,” she chimes in. And for this, the group will swoon. For a home-made ricotta tart to appear, hand-made crust and all, is a thing of beauty and a rarity in a world of Costco cheesecakes.

We got wind of Tracy’s tart skills when she showed up at a friend’s house for dinner with it in tow. “You have to try this,” our friend said the next morning as she plunked a large wedge of it on our kitchen island. One taste and we were sold.

Now a full-time author of books for children and young adults, Tracy has a PhD in Italian. “When I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, I thought, ‘how can I spend a lot of time in Italy?’” She landed a part time, fill-in position at Vanderbilt and taught there for almost 30 years. She once made this ricotta tart for a party in grad school. A professor from Milan said it tasted just like what his grandmother used to make. He even got a little teary.

Although this particular recipe is not a family one, Tracy does have a lot of Italian recipes from her mother, who learned to cook from her Italian grandmother. “I'm still trying to equal my mom's pizza--my kids say I'm getting close, but it's still not the same as Nonna's.”

TRACY’S TIPS:

1. This crust contains baking soda, which makes it a “cake-like” crust, rather than a flaky one.

2. After numerous pies with the lattice crust sinking into the filling, I decided to bake the lattice separately, then place it on the filling once it’s cooled.

3. I like to use whole milk ricotta cheese for a richer, creamier pie. But it works with low-fat as well.

4. You can use almond extract and/or Amaretto in place of the Grand Marnier.

5. In Italy, this cake typically contains candied fruit, but here in the states, it’s not very good, so I leave it out.