Wheat tart (Pastiera di grano)

Shopping list

• Fruit and vegetables

  • ½ lemon, zest only
  • ½ orange, zest only
  • 125ml/4½fl oz orange flower water (available from large supermarkets and specialist Middle Eastern delicatessens)

• Tins, packets and jars

  • 300g/10oz plain flour

• Cooking ingredients

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp vanilla sugar (make your own by adding a vanilla pod to a pot of sugar, leave for 1-2 days for the flavour to develop)
  • 150g/5oz candied peel, finely chopped
  • 225g/8oz caster sugar
  • icing sugar, for dusting
  • 150g/5oz caster sugar

• Dairy, eggs and chilled

  • 500ml/1 pint milk (if you are soaking the whole wheat)
  • 300g/10oz ricotta cheese
  • 4 large free-range eggs, separated
  • butter, for greasing
  • 150g/5oz butter or lard
  • 3 large free-range egg yolks

• Other

  • 200g/7oz whole wheat, soaked for 24 hours in several changes of water (or alternatively use 440g/15 oz canned cooked wheat, also called pastiera di grano, available from some Italian delicatessens)

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