Ang Pompano: Ricotta pie (Torta di Ricotta), one of my favorites, is a traditional Italian dessert often served at Easter to mark the end of Lent. It has a light, cheesecake-like texture and a slightly sweet filling made from ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and a touch of vanilla or citrus zest such as orange or lemon. This version, handed down from my wife’s great-aunt, keeps things simple with an easy graham cracker crust.
Ricotta Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
18 graham crackers (or 3 cups graham cracker crumbs)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 to 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted (use 1 1/2 sticks for a firmer crust)
1/4 cup flour
Ricotta Filling
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
5 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Graham Cracker Crust
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, melted butter, and flour. Mix until evenly moistened.
Press the mixture firmly into one or two 9-inch pie dishes, covering the bottom and sides evenly.
Bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.
Instructions
Ricotta Filling
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
In a large bowl, beat the ricotta cheese until smooth.
Add milk, sugar, flour, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat until fully combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture.
Assemble and Bake
Pour the filling into the cooled crust(s).
Bake for 1 hour, or until the filling is set but still slightly soft in the center.
Allow to cool before serving.
Ricotta Pie is closely related to another favorite of mine, Ricotta and Rice pie (Pastiera di Riso), which adds cooked rice to the filling, giving it a soft, slightly grainy texture that sets it apart.
Long-time followers of Mystery Lover’s Kitchen may remember when Lucy Burdette shared a version of the rice pie from my wife’s family in 2013. If you’d like that recipe, along with a buttery crust that works beautifully for this ricotta pie as well, you can find it here.
Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.
Just Released!
Diet of Death
by Ang Pompano
The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.
Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.
When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.
Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.
When It’s Time for Leaving
by Ang Pompano
Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.
Blood Ties and Deadly Lies
by Ang Pompano
Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.
Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025
Edited by
Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler
Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.
Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.
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