Easter Pie?

[chowser]

I've never seen this before but was looking for a recipe for a savory pie w/ fresh ricotta cheese. I've seen recipes that use phyllo leaves, yeast dough, different types of pie crust, tart shells. Is there one that's more traditional (is this a traditional recipe?)? The last time I tried a recipe, it was good but the pie dough was made w/ eggs and not cold water. It was flakey but tough, if that's possible. Does anyone have a recipe they like? What is the best crust?

[vvvindaloo]

Pizza Piena and Pizza Rustica are both very traditional savory Italian Easter pies. You'll probably have a lot more luck finding recipes for "pizza rustica", but I think that Pizza Piena sounds more like what you are looking for, as it features ricotta more prominently, and has less of a meat focus. I am sorry I do not have a recipe for it, or I'd give one.

[chowser]

Thanks--I'm going to try the yeasted pizza dough next time, in a springform pan as yayadave did. I'm going with this one next:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/food/ar...

I don't know why I had in my head that pizza rustica was flat thin crust pizza w/ large sliced toppings.

[yayadave]

You might look at Pizza Rustica recipes and discussions.

[chowser]

Thanks--I'll check that out. I did search on these boards for it and didn't find anything. I've seen quite a few recipes that use pizza dough. I need to find a place that has it near me so I can see what it should look like.

[yayadave]

I only made this once from a put together "recipe", so it is very much a work in progress. Which is why I don't have much confidence in posting it. But my raw notes look like this.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pizza Rustica

Pizza Rustica Pastry Dough

Recipe By : Cooking Live Show #CL1A07/1A08
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cooking Live Import

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold -- unsalted butter,
-- cut into bits
4 eggs -- beaten lightly

In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor mix or pulse
together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and blend or pulse until
mixture resembles coarse meal. Add eggs and toss or pulse until eggs
are incorporated and a dough is formed. Form dough into a disk and
chill, wrapped in waxed paper, 1 hour. Dough may be made 1 day ahead
and chilled, covered.
It would be a good idea to divide the dough into two pieces before chilling. Maybe even uneven pieces, the larger one for the bottom crust.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Filling:
2 pounds ricotta
6 eggs
1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squoze dry
½ cup grated parmesana
1 pound mozzarella, shredded

Need meat chopped – don’t use pancetta unless you pre-cook it, its too fatty. Use maybe three of following: ham, cappacola, sopperasetta, prosciutto, cacciatore, or other salami. Could easily use 1 ½ pound of meat.
For the filling, place ricotta in work bowl of mixer to puree smoothly. Stir in eggs one at a time; stir in remaining filling ingredients in order.
THEIR WAY
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the lower third divide the Pasta Frolla into 2 pieces. roll 1 of the pieces thinly to line a 12-inch straight sided cake pan. Pour in filling and smooth top. Roll the remaining dough to a 12-inch square and cut into 1-inch strips. Whisk egg and salt together and paint dough strips with egg wash. Arrange six strips on filling. Arrange remaining strips at a 45-degree angle to the first ones. Press strips at rim of pan to adhere and trim away excess dough even with top of pan.
Bake the Pizza about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and the dough is baked through. Cool in the pan on a rack. To unmold, place a platter on pizza and invert, removing pan. Replace pan with another platter and invert again, removing top platter. Serve the Pizza at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.
WHAT I DID
Used a 10” spring form pan. The filling came right to the top. Lined the bottom and up the sides with pastry, then poured in the filling and covered the top with pastry crust. (no strips). Pinched the crusts together and trimmed close all the way around. Made slits in top crust with a knife point. Baked at 350° until a toothpick came out clean. After first ½ hour, used a wash of one egg and little water on the top. 1 hour and 20 minutes.
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There are others who have way more experience with this than I do, and maybe they'll post to get us both on the right track.

By the way, what I did tasted just fine.

[chowser]

Thanks--the crust on this is very similar to the one I tried last night. More like a pie crust than the pizza dough I was thinking of w/ yeast. I made it in a pie crust and then realized you were supposed to use a springform pan. This sounds like a deep dish pizza.

[bluecat]

I happened to catch two sisters on Martha Stewart this week making what you are looking for-- the ingredients were Pizza Piena Dough
8 large eggs
2 pounds fresh ricotta cheese
7 ounces sweet Italian dry sausage, very finely chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound fresh unsalted mozzarella cheese, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large egg yolk, beaten

It is on Marthastewart.com as Easter Pizza Piena

[chowser]

That looks like about what I've seen, only different meats with each recipe. Was it a yeasted pizza dough, then? Was it made in a pie pan, or like a calzone? There are so many variations and I'm seeing sweet dessert pies, too.