Piconi I (Marchigiani sweet cheese-filled pastries)+

For the pastry dough*
4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups Castor sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
5 egg yolks

For the ricotta filling
1 cup ricotta, drained
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon rum

For the egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

Equipment needed
2 baking sheets
Parchment paper

*Makes about 2 dozen sweet ravioli

+ "Piconi" pastries can be either sweet or savory; for savory-style "piconi" pastries using Pecorino and Parmesan cheese check out the recipe, named, "Piconi II," in the "Calconi" category on this website.

To make the pastry dough:

o Mix sugar with lemon zest.

o Mix sugar mixture with flour.

o Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

o Add egg yolks and work into a pastry dough, avoiding handling it too much (or it will crumble).

o Form the dough into a ball. Wrap the ball with plastic wrap.

o Let the dough rest for a 1/2 hour in the fridge.



To make the filling

o Using an electric beater, beat the ricotta and the egg yolks together till creamy.

o Add the rum and continue beating.

o Mix the icing sugar and the cinnamon together and add it to ricotta mixture. Beat well.

o Add the lemon zest to the ricotta mixture and mix well.



To make the sweet ravioli

o Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.

o Roll out the dough -- between 1/4 inch thick to 1/8 of an inch.

o Cut 3 inch rounds.

o Place about two teaspoons of ricotta mixture on each round. Fold over and make a half moon shape. Press the edges together with a fork. Continue processing the dough until all the sweet ravioli are made.

o After making the sweet ravioli, mix the last yolk with 1 teaspoon water. Brush the tops of the sweet ravioli with the egg wash.

o Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or grease and flour them).

o Place the sweet ravioli on the baking sheets.

o Bake until golden -- about 20 minutes.

o Cool.

o Store in fridge until needed.

Rita Ferrara loves these sweet ravioli and for good reason. They are absolutely delicious. P.S. Marche's "piconi" seem more or less identical to Molise's famous savory Easter cheese pastries called "fiadoni." Like Molise's "fiadoni," Marche's "piconi" cheese-filled pastries also seem to come in two distinct versions -- the sweet kind and the savory kind. The Italian Wikipedia [from entry on "Ascoli Piceno, Marche] notes:" Infine i Piconi (Ravioli): sono fatti con pasta frolla all'esterno e dentro un impasto di ricotta fresca, cacao amaro e castagne (qualcuno aggiunge un goccio di rum). Semplici e cotti al forno, sono adatti alle colazioni primaverili. Ci sono ovviamente anche i piconi al formaggio, fatti con pecorino fresco e stagionato, consumati come antipasti per il pranzo di Pasqua." In essence it says that that "piconi" (ravioli) are made with shortcrust pastry on the outside and inside of a mixture of ricotta cheese, cocoa and chestnuts (some add a dash of rum). Simple and baked, they are suitable for spring. There are of course also piconi cheese, made with fresh pecorino cheese and seasoned, eaten as appetizers for Easter dinner." It wouldn't come as a surprise if these "piconi" go by different names. Molise's fiadoni go by dozens of different names depending on the area they come from -- could be anything from "fiatoni to "hiatun." They also go by other names, and one of these names is "calcione." Not all "calcione" recipes include cheese, some are made with chickpeas or chestnuts (as seemingly with picone). The spelling of the word, "calcione," varies from town to town, they include: "calcione, cacioni, caciu, calcioni, caveciune, caveciuni, cauciune, cauciuni, cauciun', calciume, calciumi, calciune, calciuni, calciuni, caucione, caucioni, caucine, caucini, cavazune and cavazuni." If one wants to find variations on the "piconi" recipe offered in this entry one can investigate the recipes on this website for "fiadone" and cheese-stuffed "calcione" and see if they suit one's taste. Personal comments and photo: Mary Melfi.

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