[Photograph: Ellen Silverman]

This Angel Hair Pasta Pie, a specialty of Bologna, adapted from Francine Segan's Dolci: Italy's Sweets may sound a bit bizarre. A pie with pasta as the filling? We can't say we've seen it often. But it works. Delicate strands of fresh egg pasta are layered with bittersweet ground almonds mixed with cocoa powder, candied citron, and lemon zest for an absolutely intriguing pie.

As the pie bakes, the pasta cooks in the shell, taking in the moisture from the buttery filling. And when it comes out of the oven you're have a pie with a crumbly almond filling bound together with angel hair pasta. Our favorite part about this pie (aside from the sheer novelty of it) are the little pieces of pasta on the top that bake up crisp, golden, and sweet.

This pie is a wonderful make-ahead dessert. Letting it sit overnight or even for a full day allows the flavors to come together beautifully.

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Angel Hair Pasta Pie »

As always with our Bake the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'Dolci' to give away.