Torta Pasqualina (Italian Easter Pie)

 

 

 

 

 

What would Easter Sunday be without eggs? Both chocolate and original. 

Torta Pasqualina (Italian Easter Pie)
Pie adapted from here, Pastry adapted from here

For the Cheat's Rough Puff Pastry:
300g "00" flour (or plain flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
50g unsated butter, chilled and cut into 1 cm dice
4 - 6 tablespoon ice water
125g unsalted butter, frozen

For the Filling:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 glove garlic, crushed slightly with the side of a knife
2 big bunches of silverbeet (Swiss chard), steams removed and discarded, leaves shredded
Fine sea salt
400g ricotta
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup grated firm goat's cheese (I used Manchego)
Freshly ground black pepper
7 eggs

Make the Pastry:
Put the flour and salt into a food processor and whiz to blend. Add the diced butter and blitz to mix. The mixture should look like fine breadcrumbs. Add enough ice water to bring the dough together in a ball around the blade. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and form it into a bowl.

Roll the dough out to a rectangle, Grate the frozen butter on the course side of a box grater. Sprinkle half of the grated butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third, as you would a business letter.

Turn the folded dough 90 degrees and roll it out into another rectangle again. Repeat the process of add the remaining half of frozen butter and fold as before.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

Make the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 200C anf slip a baking tray into the oven to heat up. Spray a 26 cm springform pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic. Cook the garlic over medium heat for 30 seconds then add the silverbeet. Clamp a lid on and let the silverbeet wilt for about 4 minutes. Season with salt and tip into a colander. Once cool enough to handle, remove the garlic and squeeze the silverbeet to get as much liquid out as possible.

Put the silverbeet into a large bowl and add the ricotta, nutmeg, lemon zest, cheeses and 2 eggs. Season well with salt and pepper and mix to thoroughly combine.

Assemble the Pie:
Roll the pastry out to 4-5mm thick. Cut a circle that is big enough to line the base of the pan and come 4cm up the sides. Roll the remaining pastry into a 26 cm retangle and cut it into 4 strips.

Spoon the filling into the pastry case and smooth with a spatula. Make four indents in the filling and crack an egg into each indentation. Arrange the pastry strips diagonally across the top of the pie to form 8 wedges.

Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush the pastry strips. Put the pan on the pre-heated baking tray and bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp.