Pizza rustica, also called pizza gaina, or Italian Easter pie, is a traditional Italian Easter dish; a cross between a pie, a quiche, and a savory ricotta cheesecake stuffed with Italian meats and cheeses.
There are certain dishes in Italian American cuisine that are known and loved by everyone; chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, of course pizza. And then there are dishes that you wouldn’t typically find at your local red sauce joint, dishes that if you didn’t grow up eating them you might not know what they are. I think pizza rustica falls into the latter category. But I’m here to push it into the mainstream, because that’s where it deserves to be. For those who don’t know what pizza rustica is: imagine if you bought up all the meat at the Italian deli counter, chopped it all up into bite sized pieces, and baked it into a savory ricotta cheesecake. There’s no question in my mind that we should serve that year round.
Like most Italian American dishes, pizza rustica has roots deep in Italy. The earliest known versions of this recipe come from the Naples region in the 17th century, and the dish was brought to America with southern Italian immigrants. For those (like my dad) who fasted for lent – giving up meat or even dairy – the pizza rustica is a rich, almost glutinous pie that celebrates the end of this fast, AKA Easter. It also incorporates some of those traditional springtime ingredients like eggs and fresh cheese, making it perfect for a springtime holiday.
MAKING PIZZA RUSTICA
You’ll find a million different versions of recipes out there for pizza rustica, and that’s because there’s no one absolute way to make it. The general necessities for this dish are a pastry crust and an eggy custard filling made with fresh cheese and lots of meat. And you should serve it at room temperature. But from there, there are countless different ways you can make it, and each region of Italy has their own version. This recipe is our family’s (really my brother’s) recipe for pizza rustica, and I think it’s simple enough for anyone to make.
We use a spring form pan to bake our pizza rustica, which will bake a nice deep pie and makes it easy to remove from the pan after baking. Many people choose to make a homemade pie or tart crust, but we went for store-bought. It’s just easier, and you really don’t lose out on any flavor. (If you did want to make your own, here’s a great recipe). When it comes pizza rustica filling, you always need lots of eggs to bind it. But the rest of the filling ingredients in terms of meat and cheese are yours to choose. We went with mostly ricotta for its creaminess, and a bit of provolone and parmesan for some bite. And then prosciutto, sopressata, Italian cured sausage and pepperoni, just because they’re our favorites. The recipe I’ve provided below is a guide; feel free to substitute your own favorite ingredients.
NO LONGER JUST AN EASTER TREAT
I know traditionally we make pizza rustica for Easter. I’m posting this recipe the week after Easter, only because we had just made one and I didn’t have time to put the recipe up. I could have saved it for next spring, but honestly this recipe is so rich, decadent and delicious that I didn’t want to wait that long to share it. And who says you can only have pizza rustica on Easter? It’s probably too rich to eat every day. But this is one of those holiday-themed recipes (like my matzo ball soup or Easter bread) that more than deserves to be eaten outside of its respective holiday.
Pizza Rustica
Equipment
- 8 inch spring form pan
Ingredients
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 16 oz Italian meats of choice, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (such as prosciutto, mortadella, salami, soppressatta, peperoni, etc)
- 8 oz provolone cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
- 1 package premade pie crust (2 crusts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix the filling. Whisk ricotta cheese and eggs until evenly incorporated. Then add in cubed Italian meats, provolone and parmesan and mix until evenly distributed.
- Liberally butter the bottom and sides of the 8 inch spring form pan. Roll out one of the pie doughs until it is large enough to cover the bottom of the pan and come up the sides. Lay it in the pan and press into the bottoms and sides to cover evenly.
- Add the filling to the pan and spread into an even layer. Top with the the second pie dough and crimp the edges of the dough. Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
- Bake pizza rustica at 350 until pastry crust is browned and filling is completely set and no longer wobbles, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely and serve at room temperature
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