Pizza Rustica – an Italian Indulgent Easter Pie

Several years ago, as I was searching through youtube’s food videos in the middle of the night during a bout of insomnia, I stumbled upon a Pizza Rustica recipe on Silvia Colloca’s Cook Like an Italian channel. What caught my attention was that this pizza was not the usual red-sauced, mozzarella-covered disk, but a crispy-crusted thick tart filled with assorted cheeses, spinach and smoked meat. Afterward, I made Silvia’s pizza rustica recipe numerous times to rave reviews from my spouse.

While recently exploring other pizza rustica versions, I learned that pizza rustica (which means ‘rustic pizza’) is just one name for a special pie traditionally served at Easter in Italy. Pizza rustica traces its history to 17^th century Naples when it was created to reward pious Catholics for 40-days of abstinence and fasting during Lent, the pre-Easter period of penance and spiritual reflection. Until Vatican II in 1962 significantly reduced the fasting and abstinence obligations of Catholics, this church-prescribed fast required forsaking meat, dairy and eggs and restricting the diet to one meal a day of bread, vegetables, salt and occasional fish and oil for 40 days ending Easter Sunday. Thus, local cooks created pizza rustica, an indulgent pie filled to the brim with Lent-forbidden foods, to celebrate Easter as well as to exuberantly break the Lenten fast.

As time passed, this indulgent pie was adopted throughout the Italian provinces where local variations are known by different names such as: torta pasqualina (Easter torte), pizza piena (full pie), pizza ripiena (filled pie) or pizza chiena (also filled pie in the Neapolitan dialect) to name a few. Some Italian Americans call it pizza gaina, an American adaptation of the original name pizza chiena, or Easter Pie. Each version reflects locally available ingredients and its name, the local dialect.

There is no definitive version of pizza rustica. The numerous recipes I reviewed show that cooks can creatively adapt ingredients, assembly techniques and baking preference. Pizza rustica can be plain or festive, flat or tall. It can be made with olive oil or butter pastry, leavened or non-leavened, yeast or baking powder, doughy or flaky. It can have a double-crust or a lattice top or no top. It can be filled with any mixture of ricotta, assorted fresh, salted and hard cheeses, layered or diced salumi or fresh meats, sausages, spinach, chard or other greens, peppers, herbs and hard-boiled eggs. The ultimate combination of meats and cheese depends on taste and availability. The common element between the various versions is ricotta.

Although pizza rustica includes similar ingredients, it is not an enclosed quiche. It has no smooth custard binding the ingredients together. Pizza rustica is like a dense, savory cheesecake, filled to the brim with rich cheeses, cured meats and greens, all enclosed in a flaky golden pastry crust. It holds a special place on the Italian Easter menu. It is a not diet food and can’t be made low calorie or vegetarian because the calorie overload of this recipe is an essential part of the celebratory nature of the dish, honoring the reward concept behind its creation.

In Italian communities, pizza rustica is usually baked on Good Friday and is often presented as the pièce de resistance at an Easter Sunday brunch, buffet or dinner as antipasti or main.

A note on cheese: Traditionally, pizza rustica is made from “basket cheese,” a fresh cow’s milk cheese that is pressed in baskets as it drains, hence its name. It is a fresh cheese used as a stand-in for sheep’s milk ricotta or primo sale, a drained and lightly salted fresh cow’s milk cheese. Although basket cheese or primo sale are hard to find in Italian-American delis and grocery stores, a good substitute for basket cheese is whole-milk ricotta. This fresh cheese adds a nice softness and milky taste to pizza rustica, while addition of fresh or low-moisture mozzarella or sharp aged provolone, Pecorino Romano and Parmesano Regiano add savory flavor.

A note on meats: Generally, any combination of Italian cured meats will work in a pizza rustica, but the best results come from a variety of flavors and textures, allowing each component’s unique taste to stand out. Good meat choices are: prosciutto, domestic or imported which adds a buttery texture and slightly salty flavor; soppressata, a dry, pork salami which adds a peppery flavor; genoa salami, a type of dry-cured, naturally fermented, salted and spiced salami which adds a smoky aroma and fresh Italian pork sausage, whether hot, mild or sweet, which adds the distinctive flavors of fennel, anise, coriander, pepper, and other spices. Less successful in pizza rustica (although often added by American bakers) are unsmoked Italian lunch meats such as mortadella, bologna or olive loaf which are bland in taste and texture. Pepperoni, an American variety of salami, made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper, adds a slightly smoky flavor and heat, but often is greasy and its bright red color tinges the filling pink.

Filling ingredients, from top to right: mozzarella, soppressata, parmigiano / pecorino,
parsley, prosciutto, Italian sausage, spinach, Genoa salami with ricotta and eggs in the center

Although pizza rustica is a dish of abundance, too many components will result in an indistinct taste. Three to four hard cheeses and three to four meats seem to provide a flavorful balance.

Note on salt: No additional salt is added to this filling. Aside from the whole-milk ricotta, usually barely salted, the other cheeses and meat contain varying degrees of salt, imparting the necessary saltiness. It is important to taste the components together before assembling the tart and if the combination is overly salty, reduce the amount of the saltier meat or cheese and replace it with more whole-milk ricotta, keeping the total weight of ingredients the same. Although some recipes suggest using ricotta salata (salted ricotta) as part of the ricotta base, I found it makes the pizza rustica too salty when combined with cured meats and cheeses.

Silvia Colloca’s pizza rustica was my inspiration, but once I discovered the wide variety of pizza rusticas, I was intrigued to try a more complex, festive recipe.

I retained but modified the olive oil pastry by adding baking powder which produces a flaky or crumbly texture, firm enough to support the weight of the filling and bakes to a beautiful golden color. Using the ricotta and egg mixture as the base, I added two hard grated cheeses and a semi-soft low-moisture mozzarella and three cured meats and pre-cooked hot Italian sausage, creating a well-balanced, luscious pizza rustica.

This pizza rustica is an impressive, indulgent special-occasion dish. Thin wedges are a wonderful substitute for cured meats and cheeses along with assorted olives, pepperoncini, marinated artichokes and roasted red peppers on an antipasti platter. Thick wedges with a crisp salad make a great lunch or dinner entrée.

Buon Appetito!

Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Pie)

For the crust
3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
½ cup (118 ml) water (plus more as needed)

For the filling
1½ pound (681 g) whole milk ricotta
¼ cup (22.5 g) Pecorino Romano, grated
¼ cup (22.5 g) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
3 large eggs (2 ounces – 56.7 g each without the shell
8 ounces (226.8 g) fresh baby spinach, blanched, squeezed dry, and chopped or 10 ounces (284.5 g) frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped
4 ounces (113.4 g) prosciutto, in ¼ inch (0.6 cm) cubes
4 ounces (113.4 g) soppressata, in ¼ inch (0.6 cm) cubes
4 ounces (113.4 g) Genoa salami, in ¼ inch (0.6 cm) cubes
4 ounces (113.4 g) fresh hot Italian sausage, precooked and drained fat
8 ounces (226.8 g) fresh or low-moisture mozzarella, in ¼ inch (0.6 cm) cubes
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ – ½ cup half and half or whole milk as needed
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preparing the crust: In a food processor bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse 3-4 times to mix. Add olive oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add eggs and water and pulse just until a ball of dough starts to form, less than 10 seconds. Turn dough out onto a board and gently pat dough into a disk, being careful not to knead. Divide dough into 2 pieces (⅔ and ⅓). Form each piece into a disk, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight. (Dough can be refrigerated for several days or frozen, tightly wrapped, for one month.)

When ready to bake, bring dough to slightly cooler than room temperature before rolling it out.

Position rack near the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Roll the larger piece of dough on a floured surface to a 15-inch round about a ⅛ inch (0.32 cm) thick. Ease round into the pan without tearing, tucking around the bottom. Trim edges to a 1-inch (2.54 cm) overhang. Keep the smaller piece wrapped until ready to top pie. Refrigerate the prepared pan while preparing the filling.

Preparing the filling: In a large bowl, combine ricotta, pecorino, parmesan, 3 eggs, spinach, prosciutto, soppressata, salami, mozzarella, black pepper, sausage and parsley until ingredients are evenly distributed. If ricotta is too dry, add as much of the half and half or milk as necessary to moisten the filling. Spoon the mixture into the crust, spreading it evenly and firmly. Tap the filled pan several times on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.

Assembling pie and baking: On a floured surface, roll the remaining, smaller piece of dough to a 10-inch round. Brush the edges of the overhanging crust with some of the egg wash. Place the round on top of the filling, pressing the pastry edges together. Trim the edges to ½-inch (1.27 cm) and tuck the overhang underneath. Crimp with a fork and brush pie surface with remaining egg wash. Cut a small steam vent. If desired, use leftover dough to cut out decorative shapes, arranging them on top of the pie, adhering shapes with egg wash.

Bake on bottom rack until golden and filling is bubbling about 75 minutes, loosely covering with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting so the cheeses set and the slices will cut cleanly. Remove the springform ring and slide the pie onto a cutting board or platter.

Cut into wedges with a serrated knife. Serve warm or at room temperature with a lemon wedge.

Serves 8-10 for a main course; 12-14 for an appetizer.

Serving note: Pizza rustica, tightly wrapped, can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. To serve warmed, reheat in a low oven, 300°F (149°C) for 30 minutes, tenting loosely with aluminum foil to keep top crust from over-browning.