Quassatat with Ricotta Filling is a traditional Maltese recipe for a classic egg-based pastry filled with a blend of ricotta cheese and eggs that's oven baked until golden. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Maltese version of: Quassatat with Ricotta Filling.
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Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1kg plain flour
240g butter (or margarine)
2 eggs
80g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt
For the Ricotta Filling:
1kg ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
120g peas (if desired)
Method:
Begin with the pastry. Soften the butter then add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. Now beat in the salt.
Add the flour and mix thoroughly until you have a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead thoroughly (if the dough is too stiff add a little water). Cover the dough with clingfilm and set aside to rest for at least 60 minutes.
Before you are ready to cook, whisk together the ricotta cheese, eggs, parsley and salt in a bowl. Mix until firm (add the peas if using) then cover the bowl and set aside to stand for 15 minutes.
When the pastry has rested roll out on a floured work surface to about 4mm thick. Use a circular pastry cutter to cut out circles that are large enough to contain a heaped tablespoon of the filling. Add the filling in the centre, and lifting the circle of dough at four points pinch these together so that the filling is enclosed in a bag of dough (this is the difficult part to get right, as the dough has a tendency to relax and unfurl itself from the filling).
Place each dough parcel on a lightly-greased baking tray. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough firms and the filling gently bubbles out to form a light brown crust at the top of the pastries. Serve warm.
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