When you come from a large Italian family like we do, you are bound to have quite a few traditional dishes for any holiday. For Easter, three things are always found on our brunch table- pizza ghen, a lamb cake, & ricotta pie. Pizza ghen can probably best be described as a sort of breakfast calzone and it’s the perfect dish for our annual Easter Brunch. Our lamb cake is made with a special mold. I didn’t realize how popular they were until I read an article about them on Delish.com last week. Of the three, however, it’s ricotta pie that is the most special because it was what I became in charge of making after my granddad passed away a few years ago. After a few years of trial and error, we finally figured out what tweaks he made to the recipe.

The recipe was clipped out of a newspaper years ago. What makes it somewhat unique is there is no rice or crust unlike many recipes you’ll find online. Ricotta pie is a form of cheesecake, which as the name implies is made with ricotta instead of cream cheese. The ricotta gives it a unique texture and the almond liquor and lemon zest give it a great flavor.

Have you had ricotta pie before? How does our recipe compare to your family’s?