Italian Easter Pie Recipes

EASTER MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place ricotta in a large mixing bowl and add eggs one at a time while mixing on low speed. Stir in mozzarella, ham, salami, and prosciutto until all ingredients are well combined. Line two 9 inch pans with pastry. Spoon half of mixture into each pan. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over each pie, then cover with top pastry. Crimp edges and cut steam vents in tops.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until crust is golden brown. Cool on racks.

RICOTTA PIE (OLD ITALIAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Beat the 12 eggs, 2 cups sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese and the chocolate chips, if using (see Cook's Note). Set aside.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and 1 cup sugar together. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 4 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two deep-dish pie plates.
• Roll out 2 of the balls to fit into the pie pans. Do not make the crust too thick, as it will expand during cooking. Do not flute the edges of the dough. Roll out the other 2 balls of dough and cut each into 8 narrow strips for the top of the crust. (Alternately, you can use cookie cutters and place the cutouts on the top of the pies.)
• Pour the ricotta filling evenly into the pie crusts. Top each pie with 8 narrow strips of dough or cookie cut-outs. Brush top of pie with milk for shine, if desired. Place foil on the edge of crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes; remove foil. Rotate pies on the rack so they will bake evenly. Continue to bake until a knife inserted in the center of each pie comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more. Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate until serving.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE | PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the flour, cold cubed butter, olive oil, egg, and salt. Pulse just until the mixture is combined; it should resemble coarse sand. With the food processor running, pour 4 tablespoons of cold water in and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball.
• Lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Dump the dough on to the plastic wrap and press together into a disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
• In a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients, and mix until combined. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide the dough into two pieces: two-thirds for the bottom crust and one-third for the top crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough into a circular shape. Carefully place the dough in a greased springform pan and line the insides and bottom with it. You can use any scrap pieces to fill in the gaps in the pan.
• Pour the ricotta filling into the crust. Use a spatula to smooth and even it out.
• Roll out the remaining pie crust into a circle. Place it over top of the ricotta filling. Trim any excess overhang and use the side crust to roll over the top crust of the pie. Brush the pie with a beaten egg and make a small "x" shape in the middle of the pie to allow steam to escape.
• Place the pie on the middle rack of the preheated oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for about 75 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for five minutes before removing the collar; let sit for another 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined, 3 to 4 times. Add butter and egg; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 times. Sprinkle ice water over dough; pulse until dough begins to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half, and shape into 2 (4-inch) disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle position. Unwrap 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 16-inch circle, and carefully fit into a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Prepare the filling: Cook Italian sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, breaking up sausage with a spoon until crumbled and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Whisk ricotta, mozzarella, pepper, and 3 of the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in salami, capicola, and ham.
• Shingle prosciutto slices in bottom of prepared dough-lined pan. Spread ricotta mixture over prosciutto. Scatter browned sausage over ricotta mixture, pressing lightly into an even layer. Shingle red bell peppers over sausage; top with spinach and Parmesan.
• Roll remaining dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Carefully place over filling. Trim overhang so that it's even with bottom crust; pinch top and bottom crusts firmly together. Fold dough under and crimp edges.
• Lightly beat remaining egg and brush liberally over top of pie. Using a paring knife, cut 4 (1-inch) vents in top of dough in a circular pattern. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until a thermometer inserted in center of pie registers 150°F, about 30 more minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool at least 3 hours before serving. Carefully remove sides of pan, and cut pie into slices to serve. Or cool completely, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE

Steps:

• To make the dough, use a food processor for the best results.
• Place flour into processor bowl.
• add salt, milk and shortening, pulsing the flour until it resembles small peas.
• Process add one egg at a time, and continue to mix until dough becomes a ball.
• If mix is too dry, add a teaspoon of water, a little at a time, until dough holds together.
• Remove from processor, knead lightly by hand just to shape into two balls.
• Chill dough for 30 minutes.
• On a floured board, roll out dough, one ball at a time, 1/8-inch thick into a circle to fit a 9" round glass baking dish.
• Bring the dough up the sides of the dish and begin to layer the filling ingredients.
• In the processor or blender add eggs, romano cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Set this aside.
• Filling: Place quartered boiled eggs an inch apart on the bottom of the baking dish on the dough for the first layer.
• Second layer fills in the space between the eggs by adding, cheeses, hams, and sausage.
• Alternating to make the filling distribution uniform.
• Ladle a 1/4 cup of the blended egg mixture on top of the second layer.
• Begin again layering the hard boiled quartered eggs, meat, cheeses, etc.
• until all ingredients are gone.
• Top off with the remaining blended egg mixture.
• Roll out the second ball of dough and cover the contents of the pie.
• Cut a steamhole in the top and crimp the outer edges sealing tightly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook for 1 hour or until pie crust is golden brown and contents are bubbly.
• Cool and serve warm.
• Reheat in micro for leftovers.
• Makes two 9-inch pies.

BARRA'S TRADITIONAL ITALIAN EASTER PIE

Steps:

• CRUST PREPARATION: Mix flour and salt together, cut in shortening with 2 knives or pastry cutter.
• Add beaten eggs to flour mixture slowly, incorporating very well.
• Add milk (additional liquid if necessary) to hold mixture together as it is kneaded.
• Shape pastry into two balls.
• Chill for 30 minutes or until ready to begin making the pie.
• PREPARATION FOR FILLING: Remove the sausage meat from the casings; set aside in small bowl.
• In another small bowl, place all the mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes; set aside.
• In another small bowl, place all the provolone, cut into 1/4-inch cubes; set aside.
• Do the same for the ham and salami and proscuitta; set aside keeping all the ingredients separate.
• Boil dozen eggs; cool, peel, cut into quarters and set aside.
• Make EGG WASH:In a blender, add 10 eggs, parsley, 1/2 cup grating cheese.
• Blend; set aside.
• This will be used between layers of ingredients as the"holding agent" to keep all the ingredients together.
• TO ASSEMBLE PIE: Roll chilled pastry on floured board to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Make into 2 large circles to fit into a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate and to cover.
• Better to do this in glass; it cooks more evenly and you can see if your bottom has fully cooked.
• Fit the pastry into the pan and up the sides.
• Begin by layering the quartered hard boiled eggs as the first layer on bottom, about 1-inch apart from eachother.
• In between each quartered slice of egg, with your fingers, place a small piece of sausage meat; going around the whole first layer of the pie.
• Sprinkle a layer of grated cheese all around.
• Next, a thin layer of mozzarella; (one piece high), Next a thin layer of proscuitta; Next a thin layer of provolone cheese; Next a thin layer of salami; Next a thin layer of boiled ham.
• Pour 1/2 cup of your egg wash over the first layer.
• Begin again with your quartered eggs; alternating the quarters"in between" the quarters of the first layer.
• Layer each ingredient as you did on the first layer and so on.
• Proceed with your second layer; again egg wash poured over the layer, etc.
• Depending on the depth of the pie pan, the size of your cut ingredients, you may have two or three layers, but don't fill it beyond the rim of the dish.
• Cover the last layer with another piece of pastry dough and crimp together firmly"gluing" if necessary to keep things together as the pie expands.
• Cut a steam hole on top and brush pastry with a tablespoon of milk (just to enhance the beauty of this meal for presentation) to form a glaze.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake for one hour or until the pie crust is golden on the top and ingredients are bubbly.
• The aroma will tell you the pie is done!
• If you filled the pie too much with egg wash or ingredients, it may boil over.
• It is a good idea to place a sheet of aluminum foil beneath the pie in the oven to catch any drips.
• Serve the pie warm.
• Keep Refrigerated; leftovers can be reheated nicely in a toaster oven or a microwave for 1 minute.