Pizza Rustica (Easter Pie)
Updated March 11, 2018
Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound chilled salted butter, cut into large pieces
5 large eggs, beaten
FOR THE FILLING
12 ounces prosciutto, in ¼-inch dice
8 ounces boiled ham, in ¼-inch dice
8 ounces pepperoni, in ¼-inch dice
8 ounces soppressata, in ¼-inch dice
8 ounces mozzarella, in ¼-inch dice
8 ounces provolone, in ¼-inch dice
2 pounds ricotta
4 ounces grated pecorino Romano
10 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pepper
1 large egg, beaten, for brushing crust
Preparation
FOR THE DOUGH
- Step 1
For the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together 6 cups flour and the salt. Using a pastry cutter, large fork, or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs and knead for 1 minute. Add about 1 ¼ cups ice water, a little at a time, to form a cohesive dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it forms a large smooth ball, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Step 2
For the filling: Mix the meats, cheeses, the 10 eggs and pepper in a large bowl.
- Step 3
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough into two pieces: two-thirds for the bottom crust and one-third for the top. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger portion of the dough into a rectangle to line the bottom and sides of a 10-by-15-inch glass baking dish, with some overhang. Add the filling and smooth it lightly. Moisten the edges of the dough with a little water.
- Step 4
Roll out the remaining dough to cover the top of the dish with some overhang. Trim off excess dough and crimp the edges to seal. Poke several sets of holes across the top with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush top and edges with the beaten egg, then return to the oven until golden brown, another 45 minutes. Let pie cool completely before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
This was delicious. I ended up halving the recipe since it was only for my boyfriend and myself. And in an effort to be somewhat healthy, we subbed a lot of the meat for vegetables: spinach and mushrooms. I also added garlic and oregano because I thought the subtraction of most of the meats would detract from the flavors.
This is almost exactly my grandmother's recipe. She got it from her mother-in-law who was from Italy. Two big diffs, we use "pot cheese" instead of ricotta and hard salami and sausage instead of pepperoni. Pot cheese is basically fresher, smoother ricotta and used to come in little baskets from our local deli. I've substituted ricotta in the lean years where I didn't have a good Italian deli, but lately our Shop-Rite deli has been supplying! Happy Easter!
My Neapolitan grandmother made this every Easter, but it was always with leftovers from the Easter feast. The story was that Easter Monday was an Italian holiday and families spent the day picnicking. This was was picnic fare. The only constant is the ricotta.. Chopped meats, cheeses, finely chopped vegetables, hard boiled eggs were added as available I’m not sure how much of the backstory is true, but it’s my story and the pie is delicious, so I’m sticking to it!
I added 8 ounces of well drained chopped spinach. I used less prosciutto because of cost. Really good!
I cheat…I used two frozen piecrust on the bottom, crimp it up the sides… two frozen pie crust on top crimped. And because it’s inherently salty, last year, I started soaking the chopped meat for 1/2 hour in water… It cuts the salt nicely… I know it sounds crazy.
OMG my dad would make this every Easter. A small slice goes a long way!