Pizza Rustica This Weekend

 Tonight , being Holy Thursday is the start of the Easter weekend. It's a time to think of traditions and the recipes that come with it. One is the Southern Italian dish of pizza rustica. It is a dish that can be made for Easter but also for the days around it.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this classic in her A Good Appetite Column in yesterday's New York Times Food review.It;'s sort of like a cross between a quiche and maybe a calzone. It symbolizes  the end of Lent and the return of eggs, meat and cheese to the diet after Lenten restrictions of them. It goes by a variety of different names from torta rustica or rustic cake to pizza di Pasqua and pizza gaina. It is much beloved in Southern Italy where there are many different variations.Nowadays all Italians  bake it and not just for Easter.Ms/ Clark's Roman friend Sophie Minchelli spent the Covid 19 locdown baking all sorts of them. She tried ones with puff pastry and tweaking the filling to what she had on hand. Her Spring  time version forgoes meat and has plenty of seasonal greens like chard. Ms. CLark combines greens and ham in her version, instead of using the traditional and stronger tasting salame and prosciutto.As for the crust she opts for a pasta frolla or sweet crust (!) fragranced with lemon zest. Giving the pie a sweet crust offsets the filling's savoriness.

She provides the recipe which is easy to replicate. Again her pasta frolla crust , taken from Nancy Harmon Jenkins Cucina Del Sole (William Morrow COokbooks ) uses two tablespoons of granulated sugar to provide the sweetness along with three to four tablespoons of a dry white wine (You can sub in white wine vinegar mixed with ice water for this)Th e rest is basically a typical pie crust blend of flour , water and butter. Adding one egg enriches it and gives it color. The filling is a mix of whole milk ricotta and a choice of Pecorino, Romano or Parmesan cheeses.Use half a cup of chopped ham.There are also five cups of s baby spinach or chard cooked for two minutes in olive oil and garlic. It's cooked until wilted but not soaked in the oil. Drain off any liquid . You don;t want that in the pie because it will create a watery texture.It's then making the custardy filling by pureeing the eggs and drained ricotta with the spinach , ham, cheese and spices.Add red pepper flakes for zing. Set aside while you roll out the dough. It's then assembling in a pie pan. Save some dough for creating the traditional lattice top crust.Use an egg wash Cook for fifty to sixty minutes in a preheated 375 degree Farenheit oven.

Pizza rustica is the perfect Easter pie to make for the holiday dinner. It is also perfect for the Easter Monday picnics and Spring parties. Try this Italian classic for a nice warm weather treat.