Growing up Pizza Rustica was a dish that I looked most forward to on Easter. This traditional Italian pie can be made many ways, as it varies depending upon the region in Italy. I make mine with a variety of cheeses, eggs and cured meats (I even put some sausage in there too). I usually serve this pie with antipasto on Easter Sunday.
Please note you can make this in advance and freeze as a whole pie. If you have leftovers, I like to slice it up and wrap it into individual pieces and freeze.
Pizza Rustica
The Dough (You can also use 2 Store Bought Pie Crusts)
2 ½ Cups of Flour
½ Cup Cold Butter- Cubed
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Egg
1 tsp. Salt
4 tbsp. Cool Water
The Filling
7 oz. Prosciutto di Parma – Cut Into Cubes
8 oz. Hot Sopressata – Cut into Cubes
10 oz. Mild Provolone – Cut into Cubes
2 lbs. Cheese and Parsley Sausage- Out of the casing
8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella- Cut in Cubes
3 Cups Fresh Ricotta
1 ½ Tsp. Pepper
½ tsp. Salt
1 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano
1 Tbsp. Chopped Parsley
8 Eggs – beaten, plus one extra eggs for brushing on the pie
9 inch Springform Pan
NOTE
****Ask the deli person to slice the prosciutto, hot sopressata and provolone thick (about ¼ inch thick). Then cut the meat into tiny cubes when prepping the recipe.
****Honestly, a quality store bought pie dough is just as good as this homemade one. So, if you are crunched for time, use the store bought. Just roll it out to the same diameter as you would with the homemade dough.
The Dough
In a food processor fitted with a blade add the flour, butter, olives oil, egg and salt and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Then add in the water. And pulse until it is combined. Place the dough on a clean, floured countertop and knead slightly. You want to incorporate the ingredients but not overwork it. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Just before using, take it out and bring to room temperature for 20 minutes.
For the Filling
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet cook the sausage until it is no longer pink and slightly browned. Let it cool.
In a bowl combine the prosciutto, hot sopressata, provolone, sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, salt, pepper, Pecorino, parsley and eggs. Mix so that all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Spray your springform pan well with non-stick spray. On a flat surface put some flour. Cut ⅔ of the dough from the ball and form into another ball. Take the remaining 1/3 of the dough and make it a ball as well. Roll out the larger pie crust to about 15 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to the springform pan. Gently push the dough so that it lines the entire bottom of the pan and up along the edges. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dough-lined pan. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 10 inch round and cut into at least 15 thin strips. Then make a criss cross pattern on top of the pizza rustica. Or you can simply place the whole piece of dough right on top. Be sure to cut any excess off from around the perimeter of the pan. And crimp the edges close. In a bowl beat an egg. Use a pastry brush to coat the entire top of the pizza rustica with the egg. Put in the oven and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Allow to cool and serve.