Renaissance Neapolitan Pizza (Fruit Nut Pie)

One of the ingredients in this recipe is mostaccioli, which, in the Renaissance, was a biscuit that was often used in recipes as a binder, and not the sweet cookies that you might know of today.  You can make your own mostaccioli, or instead, substitute plain biscotti or a cookie like Biscottini di Novara or Pavesini cookies, often found in Italian food stores, or ordered online.  You could even use something like vanilla wafers in a pinch. Whatever you choose it shouldn’t have too much flavor, and should be a crispy type of cookie. Scappi’s mostaccioli were flavored with the essence of musk. I didn’t worry about this aspect of the recipe. Getting the anal glands of a now endangered musk deer isn’t so easy (or desirable) for a modern chef!

For the pie shell, you can use a store-bought pie shell or use your favorite recipe. Scappi’s pastry crusts, would have used rosewater instead of ice water.  Scappi used rosewater in everything but it can be overpowering, so I halved the amount of rosewater in this recipe, which works much better for a modern palate.