This is one of my favourite recipes – Torta Pasqualina or Easter Savoury Pie. The credit goes to the lovely Silvia Colloca (@silviacollocaofficial) who grew up in Italy. Her food is delicious and this is just one of many of Silvia’s recipes that I bake regularly. If you are looking for food ideas for Easter you can’t go past this tasty pie.
2 x tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 x garlic clove, bruised
2 x bunches silverbeet, thick white stalks discarded, leaves finely chopped
400g ricotta, drained
1 x teaspoon grated nutmeg
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan
1/2 cup (50g) grated pecorino
6 x eggs
375g frozen puff pastry, thawed
Preheat oven to 200 degrees/C. Grease a 26 springform cake pan.
Heat oil in a large frypan with a lid over high heat. Cook garlic for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add silverbeet and cover with the lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until wilted. Season with salt and set aside to cool. Remove garlic and discard. Drain silverbeet in a colander, pressing down to remove excess liquid.
Combine the silverbeet, ricotta, nutmeg, lemon zest, cheeses and 2 eggs in a large bowl, season and set aside.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick, then line the base and 4cm up the side of the pan to form a rim. Spoon ricotta mixture into base, smoothing surface with a spoon. Make four evenly spaced indents in the filling, then crack an egg into each. Brush pastry edges with beaten egg (or milk) and roll over to create a fluted edge. Transfer dish to a baking tray and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and crisp.
