My sister and I thought we lost my grandmother's recipe when she died only to find it here. I did not add the candied fruit and baked it in a larger spring form pan for 1 hr. It was perfect!
I made this pie with a few changes. I used a frozen deep dish pie crust with no top, cooked pearl barley instead of wheat berries and added roasted pine nuts to the mix. I also cooked it a little longer than the recipe calls for. It turned out great! Even my italian mother-in-law loved it. Now I can bring the Easter Pie to family gatherings with confidence!
So glad to see this recipe which is very similar to my grandmother's who was from Naples, Italy. The only thing different that she used to add was chocolate chips. It was her own personal preference. Very nice recipe and tribute to our Italian heritage for the holidays.
A big tradition in a Neapolitan house. Expensive if you can find it in the bakery. The first time I ever had Easter "wheat pie" I had no idea of how to make it or how to prepare the wheat berries so guessing I used shredded wheat! It tasted the same. Make sure you really cook those wheat berries if you use them. Hard berries ruined my next try!-I think I'll use my presser cooker to cook the wheat.
This is really an excellent recipe. I used a 9" deep dish pan and it was the perfect amount.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
My Mom has a very intense, all day cooking version which is Out of this world, but I don't have all that time. This sounds very close to my Moms version.
Mom will be 86 years old this summer, and
She decided this year that she is just not up to making it. OH NO!!!
This will be a huge surprise to her and my family...as we were all very disappointed that we weren't going to have Our "Pizza Grain Pie" this year.
Thank you, Thank You, Thank You!!
My stepdad always longs for Grain Pie for Easter but the high prices and long lines from the stores made me search for an option. This recipe was a great choice. He loved the pie and especially that I made it myself!
I am also one who did not have a recipe for this dish I grew up with. Last Easter, I wanted to make it for my friends and I stumbled upon this recipe, which may even be better then my grandmother's. *shhh* The chewy whole wheatberries are a great touch. I also left out the candied fruit...after a lifetime of picking it out, I was not about to put it in my own pie!
It was a big hit last year, and everyone is looking forward to it again at Easter brunch!
I added a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the recipe It came out great
