Italian Easter Pie Recipe (Torta Pasqualina)
Our family's straightforward recipe for the traditional Italian Easter pie (torta pasqualina), a savory ricotta and spinach pie.
Ingredients
- 2 pre-prepared frozen pie crusts or rounds of puff pastry (in the USA, my favorite is Trader Joe’s)
- 2.2 lbs fresh spinach, swiss chard or a mix, well washed and picked through (see Notes & Tips for how to)*
- 1 small white onion
- 1 sprig fresh marjoram optional
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 10.5 oz cow’s milk ricotta
- 5 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 oz parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the ricotta from its container and let drain in a fine mesh strainer over the sink to remove any excess liquid.
- Finely chop the white onion and add it to a large saute pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
- While the onions are cooking, clean the greens well (see notes) and remove the marjoram from the stem and finely chop.
- Add the greens and the marjoram, if using, to the pan with ½ teaspoon salt and cook until all the water has evaporated from the spinach, turning often to help the cooking process along, 10-15 minutes depending on how you remove the liquid. Listen for a slight sizzling sound as an indication that almost all the water has evaporated. It’s very IMPORTANT for all excess water to evaporate or the pie will be soggy. To speed up the process, spoon out a bit of the water as it’s expelled from the spinach, being careful not to remove the onion by using a fine mesh strainer. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
- While the water is evaporating, combine the drained ricotta, 1 egg, the parmesan, a few grinds of black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl. Mix well.
- Add the cooled greens to the ricotta mixture and combine.
- Remove a pie crust and gently place it into a 9-10 inch springform pan lined with parchment paper.
- Add the greens and ricotta mixture to the pie crust, creating an even layer.
- Create 4 small holes with a spoon, evenly spaced in the spinach mixture and crack an egg into each hole.
- Cover with the remaining pie crust and seal well. Let rest in the fridge for 30 min while you preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C)
- Prick the top all over with a fork and gently brush with the egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water.
- Bake in the bottom of the oven for 40-50 minutes until golden brown on top.
- Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and letting it come to room temperature, about an hour, before cutting.
Notes
- Cleaning Spinach: Remove any stalky stems and undesirable spinach leaves. Clean the spinach in batches by filling the sink with water and gently turning it around with your hands. After cleaning the spinach a first time, let it rest in a cool water bath in the sink for an extra 5 minutes allowing any extra dirt to fall to the bottom. Gently lift up the spinach, allow it to drain for a second over the sink in your hands and add to the pan.
- Cleaning Swiss Chard: Remove the large stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Continue as indicated above for cleaning spinach in the sink.
- Be sure all the water has evaporated from the spinach/swiss chard mixture before moving on. If you are in any doubt, you can squeeze out any excess liquid once the greens have cooled and discard.
- Use an oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is accurate.
- Be sure to make the holes big enough to hold the eggs to avoid them spilling over the holes you have made. Use a spoon to push the ricotta and spinach mixture to the sides and carve out a little wells being careful not to poke a hole or tear the bottom pie crust.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!