Pizza Rustica

Being in an Italian family, tradition is very important, especially around the holidays. However, my family, from both Naples and Calabria, never made Pizza Rustica (Pizza Gain, Easter Pie, it has many names) growing up. Easter Bread, yes (a post for another day) which was something I still make to this day. But for the past 4 or 5 years, I would see a lot of my friends, and people on Instagram making this great “pie”. It has everything I love in it, cured meats, ricotta, parmesan……I needed to get my hands in there.

The only thing is, there are SO. MANY. RECIPES to choose from. With any new dish I make, I always try to look at a few recipes, and either choose one that I love the most, or pick a few and blend them together. One part that I love about Pizza Rustica, is that you also make the pie dough, which is something I love doing. Making your own dough may seem like a daunting task, but it’s usually only a few ingredients, and comes together before your eyes!

I saw one of my girlfriends post on Instagram that she was making it. Her father owns an Italian deli, so I KNEW this was the recipe to get. She gladly sent it over, but I didn’t have all of the ingredients exactly. We are in a global pandemic here. Luckily, I always have Prosciutto and Soppresata in the fridge (to snack on, obviously) and I’m cheese’s number one fan, so I had most of the things, but had to make some substitutions. The pie dough came out great, it was flaky, golden brown, and complimented the salty meat and cheese.

It’s official, I’m using this recipe for years to come, and creating my own Easter traditions for my family and future kids. Although…Pizza Rustica may make an appearance a few times throughout the year!

Print Recipe

Pizza Rustica

Yields: (1) 8×8 Pyrex or 9” Springform Pan

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Christina

Equipment

• 8×8 Pyrex or 9” Springform Pan

Ingredients

For Pie Dough:

• 4 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1.5 tsp Baking soda
• 6 Tablespoons Shortening (Crisco)
• 2 Egg
• 1 cup Ice water

For Filling:

• 2 ¼ cups of cubed cured meats [I used combination of Prosciutto Pepperoni, Hot & Sweet Soppresata]
• 3 Italian sausage links removed from casings
• 2 cup Fresh Ricotta
• ½ cup Shredded Mozzarella
• ½ cup Pecorino
• 3 Hardboiled eggs roughly chopped
• 4 Eggs (One for eggwash)
• 2 Sprigs of thyme
• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions

Preparation:

• Pie Dough:
• Mix the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Blend the shortening into the flour with a fork or clean hands until a shaggy dough forms. Beat eggs and add them in. Slowly add the ice water, a little bit at a time, to the flour mixture until it's able to form a ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Filling:
• Lightly brown the sausage in a 1 tsp olive oil, and let cool.
• Mix the sausage, meats, hard boiled eggs, ricotta, pecorino, 3 eggs, and mozzarella, and sprinkling of salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut in half. Roll out each piece, slightly larger than what you're putting it in.
• Place the larger of the dough on the bottom, bringing the sides up the side of your springform pan or Pyrex dish. Fill with your meat, cheese, and egg mixture and smooth out the top. Place the second piece of dough on top, making sure to crimp the sides so no mixture falls out when baking.
• Crack one egg in a small bowl, whisk and add a tablespoon of water. Brush the whole thing with the egg wash. Place the Pizza Rustica in the oven, and cook for about an hour, or until the top is nice and golden brown. Wait for it to cool slightly before digging in! This is also delicious room temp!