Eyeing A Lava Recipe!
As some of you know, my wife Alex and I love to travel. And we love to eat local cuisine – so that is why I am staring intently at a “lava” recipe!
How did we get here? Well, as always there’s a travel adventure attached!
That “lava” comes from the top of Sicily’s Mt. Etna, the most active volcano in Europe!
That’s Etna right behind us, and those aren’t clouds, it’s gas from the volcano!
We got to hike near the top and you can see that trip here:
On our way down, we stopped for a wine tasting and saw this cookbook:
The recipe I am going to make comes from this terrific cookbook – which I saw on Italy’s island of Sicily – but had no room to carry it home with me!
My wife Alex and I visited Planeta winery for a terrific wine tasting!
Based on the feast we had there, I copied the recipe so I could cook it when I got back home.
We loved their wines, like this one, named for the mountain that looms above the winery:
The grape varietal is called “Carricante” – a chardonnay style grape with much minerality – thanks to the lava, which I’ll explain later.
Baking A Sicilian Ricotta Tart – A “Cassatedde!”
This is how the cookbook refers to the dish, which is a tradition tart filled with sweetened ricotta cheese.
Here are the ingredients for the crust:
2 lb. 2 ox. flour
3-1/2 oz. lard or butter
3-1/2 oz. sugar
1 glas lukewarm water
salt to taste
Combine all of the ingredients on a wooden board, using the lukewarm water gradually to incorporate everything, like this:
Knead vigorously until you have a ball of dough like this:
Place the ball in plastic wrap and let rest for two hours.
Now, onto the filling – here are your ingredients:
1 pound 12 oz. sheets’ milk rocotta
7 oz. confectioner’s sugar
2 eggs
cinnamon powder
Pass the ricotta through a fine strainer if needed. Lightly beat the eggs and sugar and then add the ricotta in, blending well.
After resting for 2 hours, place your dough on a slightly floured work surface and roll it out until thin. Here’s how I did it:
Oh, and I truly apologize – I had no idea my two top shirt buttons were undone while I was filming this!
Well, it WAS 90 degrees out when I was baking – a lame excuse but an excuse nonetheless!
Once rolled out, the recipe calls for a cookie cutter to make a round disk, but I used a knife.
Make several round discs 4 in. in diameter.
Pinch the edges to form a decorative ridge to hold in the ricotta mixture – or do what I did – which was to put the dough into a mold.
Then just pour your ricotta mixture in and spread the ricotta evenly in each tart.
Heat oven to 400 degree and bake for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Here’s how I did it:
Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon, pour a glass of wine and enjoy!
The tart was very flavorful: the smoothness of the ricotta is aided by a pop of sugar in the mixture, and the cinnamon offers a savory balance…it’s very must a custard-like consistency, and it tastes really good – not too sweet!
Now, back to the top of Mt. Etna – it has continued to simmer since we were there!
There are craters all the way down the mountain, remains of previous eruptions – and here’s how close we got to one:
We spent hours exploring Mt. Etna, and it was fascinating….I’ve already shared our adventures at the bottom of the mountain before – when Giocomo took us inside a lava cave:
Giocomo told us how the lava can form air pockets as it cools over time – allowing us to go inside a cave made completely of lava!
See more of our subterranean tour here:
I also shared this story about rock diving into the waters off of Sicily:
Yes, this was a favorite spot to jump into the Ionian Sea, and I got video of it!
Click here to see the video and more:
I also shared the story of Sicily’s “part time island!”
That’s right: it’s an island at high tide only!
Click here for some video of this terrific “part time” island!
The other Italian island we visited was Sardinia, where we discovered something really cool:
James Bond stayed here!
We discovered our Hotel was used by 007 – and you can see how and why by clicking on my story here:
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Categories: cookbooks, Exotic Travel, Food, food blog, Food Review, Italy, Memoirs, nature, Recipes, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Wacky Food, wine
johnrieber 
I went to Mt Etna in March of this year, it was blizzarding, still rode the cable car to the upper station but it was socked in with howling snow, as if we were in Alaska, hard to believe after leaving 80 degree Catania just hours earlier.
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OH NO! They said it snowed up there but March seems so late! Thanks for sharing!
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You have been in Italy and you didn’t come to visit me!?! I am jelouse. I live in Calabria, if you remember for the next trip in Italy. Ivan
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Well, that is worth remembering!
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This tart looks amazing, John. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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The tart looks absolutely yum! And I must say, you did such a great job standing in the kitchen turning on the oven and getting the perfect tart in the end on the hot day!🤣👍✨
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The shell was a bit too thick but considering I’m not a baker, it turned out OK – thanks for the comment!
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Yum!!
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Those tarts look amazing. I must try the recipe! Thanks.
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You did a great job with the tart, especially in that heat. My mountain climbing days might be over, but my tart-eating days are not. Sign me up, John. :)
Best wishes, Pete.
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that tart looks lovely, and I’m sure it tasted as good as it looked!
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It was, and it was a great reminder of the food, wine and culture of that part of Sicily, which we loved! Thank you for commenting!
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What a cool trip! And the tart looks delicious!
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