Italian Easter Pie: Torta Pasqualina
Italian Easter Pie (Torta Pasqualina) is a spinach and egg pie originally from the Liguria region of Italy. It’s said to have been made with thirty-three sheets of very thin pastry, one for every year of Jesus’ life. It’s typically served cold but I like it out of the oven once it’s cooled with a glass of dry white wine.
The are different variations of this recipe. This one is simple and made with spinach, ricotta, eggs, and puff pastry. You can adjust how you season or even add pesto to it as well. The eggs baked inside are beautifully to see when you cut a slice to plate.
Italian Easter Pie
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Meal
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
3 bags (10oz / 283 grams) of spinach wilted and chopped
16 oz (1 lb / 453 grams) container of ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
5 eggs + 1 egg (make a egg wash)
salt to your taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the spinach with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, lemon juice, salt (to your taste), and 1 egg.
- Butter a 9″ springform pan and line with one of the puff pastry sheets.
- Take a 2nd sheet of puff pastry and cut it into 3 strips and line the sides of the pan.
- Take the last two puff pastry sheets and with the pan place on top to make an indention. Cut out the circles.
- Place 1 circle at the bottom of the pan and press everything together.
- Pour in the spinach mixture and transfer to the fridge, chill for 30 minutes.
- Take out of the fridge and make 5 holes, large enough to fit an egg.
- Break 1 egg into each of the holes. Season with a little more salt.
- Take the 2nd circle of puff pastry and place it carefully over the top of the mixture. Fold down the edges of the pastry to join up with the circle to seal the pie.
- Paint the top of the pie with the egg wash, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the pie is in the fridge, Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- After 30 min, take the pie out and score a pattern on the top with a sharp knife. Make a small hole in the center. Paint a final layer of beaten egg on the top. Bake it in the oven for 1 hour.
- Let the pie cool completely before cutting to serve.
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