Pizza
Rustica - Easter Pie
Like
most Italian food, the ingredients for pizza rustica depend
on what region the recipe is from. I've seen it cooked with
a custard type filling mixing the eggs with ricotta cheese.
Some regions use Swiss Chard and variations even use crab
meat and lobster.
Traditionally,
what makes this an Easter Pie is the meat. Lent was a time
of fasting ending in a meatless Good Friday and Holy Saturday
morning. The meat pie was a treat to celebrate the end of
the season of penance. This is Great Aunt Vincenza'a recipe
so it probably originated on the Amalfi Coast near Bari.
In
our home the Easter Pie is served before the meal with the
antipasto. Antipasto translates to before the pasta
so any salads or premeal delicacies are set out before the
real eating commences.
The
way our family prepares the dish is an assembly line production.
There is a lot of chopping, slicing and shredding before the
pies get put together. Everyone wants their own pie to take
home on Easter and there are the cousins who live in places
where there is no basket cheese or prosciutto who get an Easter
Pie shipped to them.
Making
the pizza has become as much of a tradition as eating it!
You
can use any pie or pizza dough for the crust, but we prefer
to make it from scratch.
CRUST:
5
1/2 cups flour
1/4 lb. butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup warm water
FILLING:
1
pepperoni, sliced thin
15 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/4 lb. piece salami, cut in strips
1/4 lb. piece provolone,
diced
1/4 lb. prosciutto,
crumbled
1 small basket cheese (Formagetto),
cubed
To
prepare the dough, blend the flour, baking powder and salt
in a large bowl. Work in the butter with a fork until the
flour resembles coarse meal. Stir in the eggs and water gradually
with a fork.
When
just mixed, cover with foil and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Bring
to room temperature and divide dough in half. On a lightly
floured board, roll out half the dough to 1/8 inch thickness
and 14 inches around. Place in a greased 12-inch pie plate.
Add
the filling in the layers as follows: 5 sliced eggs, provolone,
salami, 5 sliced eggs, basket cheese, pepperoni, prosciutto,
5 sliced eggs.
Roll out the remaining dough and cover pie. Seal around with
a fork. Use a knife or scissors to cut off excess. Glaze with
egg yolk and prick a few holes on top. Bake at 350 degrees
for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve slightly chilled.
also
see -> Buona
Pasqua! Traditional Italian Easter
Elsewhere
on the Web:
Pizza
Rustica Recipe ( Easter Pie )
Pizza
Rustica Recipe
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