Finding myself with a container of soon-to-expire ricotta on my hands, not having used it for another planned recipe, I decided to make a pie to get a lot of various leftover ingredients off my hands (an overabundance of graham cracker crumbs, cream, etc.) In the end this was not such a great concoction – would be better perhaps if the apple mixture had some butter mixed into the sugar and cinnamon to make the apple layer more like apple pie. And the ricotta layer was also a bit dry and bland. I don’t know quite how I would combat the dryness (and it might not be necessary if the apples were more filling-like) but for better flavor, I might consider adding lemon zest.
Apple ricotta pie
Apple layer
3 cups sliced or diced apples
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Ricotta filling
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup sugar
½ cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the crust you can either use a regular pâte brisée/shortcrust pie-pastry dough or a graham cracker crust (use about ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter – mix together and press into a pie pan/tin. Bake ten minutes on 180C. Fill.)
For apple layer, peel apples and slice. Mix with sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Place in the prepared pie crust.
For the ricotta filling, beat eggs, then add ricotta, sugar, cream and salt. Pour over the top of the apples.
Bake at 220C (425F) for 10 minutes; reduce the heat to 175C and bake for 30 additional minutes.
Let cool. Serve.
