Italian Torta Pascualina Recipe
Torta pascualina is a savory Italian pie consisting of a cheese, egg and spring greens filling in a flaky pastry crust. The greens are cooked down and combined with multiple cheeses and eggs. The filling is placed on the dough, which is folded and pinched shut, completely enveloping the filling. The pie is baked until golden.
Springs greens are those available early in the year, around Easter. These include artichoke and swiss chard but spinach is the most popular choice. Multiple cheeses are used. At least one soft cheese, usually ricotta is used in combination to a stronger flavored cheese such as pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano.
The first torta pascualinas were made with chard which was cheap and prescinsêua cheese, which is hard to find outside of the pies area of origin due to its short storage life. The pastry dough was made with only water, salt, flour and olive oil. Today the pastry is richer with additions like butter. Many bakers opt for a non-layered pie crust or pre purchased phyllo dough because it is less time consuming and foolproof.
Recipe variations add more flavorings like onions, garlic and parsley. Asparagus is sometimes used in place of spring greens. This dish has gained popularity in Uruguay and Argentina as about half the population of each country is of Italian descent. The Argentinian variation is made with nutmeg and whole boiled eggs or eggs cracked into a divot in the filling, appearing as a whole egg when sliced.
Origin and Significance
Torta pascualina originates from the Liguria region of Italy. The area is best known for its cuisine. The pie is traditionally prepared for Easter, when it was made with 33 layers of pastry, each layer representing one year of Jesus’s life on earth.
‘Torta’ refers to a cake or pie and ‘Pascualina’ comes from the word Pasqua which is Italian for Easter.
Italian Torta Pascualina Recipe
Torta pascualina is an Italian savory pie consisting of a cheese, egg and spring green filling in a flaky pastry crust.
Ingredients
Dough
- All-purpose flour - 3 cups
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Filling
- Greens - 2 ½ lb
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp
- Onion (diced) - 3 cups
- Salt and pepper - to taste
- Ricotta - 1 cup
- Parmesan (grated) - 3 oz.
- Eggs - 9
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, stir together 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon salt and 4 tablespoons oil.
- Pour over flour and mix until the dough comes together in a rough ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, adding more flour if it is still sticky.
- Wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. (May refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature.)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Working in batches, blanch a handful of greens at a time, dropping them into the water until just wilted, then cooling in a colander under cold running water.
- Divide greens into 4 portions and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.
- Chop the greens coarsely with a large knife, then squeeze them again. (There should be about 4 cups of cooked greens.)
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wide pot over medium heat.
- Add the onions, salt and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the greens.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Mix well then turn off the heat.
- Add the ricotta and half of the Parmesan and mix.
- Taste and adjust; it should be highly seasoned.
- Beat 4 of the eggs.
- Set aside 3 tablespoons of beaten egg.
- Add the remaining beaten eggs to the greens and mix well. Let cool.
- Heat oven to 375F degrees.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces and form into balls.
- Using a rolling pin, roll each piece out into a very thin 12-inch circle.
- Place 1 dough circles on a 12-inch pizza pan lined with parchment.
- Brush lightly with oil, then lay another dough circle on top.
- Spoon greens evenly over dough to a 2-inch thickness, leaving a 1-inch border of dough with no filling.
- Smooth the surface.
- Using a soup spoon, make 5 indentations in the greens and crack a raw egg into each depression.
- Sprinkle with remaining parmesan.
- Cover with another dough circle and brush lightly with oil.
- Place the last dough circle on top.
- Using a paring knife, trim off any excess dough at perimeter of the pie.
- Fold outer edges inwards together and crimp to seal pie.
- Brush the top with the reserved beaten egg.
- Using a paring knife, make 2 or 3 steam vents.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until very well browned.
- Slide the torta onto a cutting board and let cool slightly before slicing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 409Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 182mgSodium: 524mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 7gSugar: 4gProtein: 19g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.
