Easter Recipe: Pizza Rustica

Easter is around the corner and eggs are on my mind. While I don’t understand how the Easter bunny came to lay eggs for the holiday, I am willing to suspend my disbelief for an afternoon of turning a couple dozen eggs into a pile of delicate and lovely pastel-colored pretties. Best of all, the day after Easter I get to start the project I really love: coming up with fun things to make with all those eggs. A chive and lemon flecked egg salad spread on a slice of whole grain bread is always a favorite. It seems a good excuse to make a savory soufflé like this, although it will only get me through three more eggs. Luckily, this week’s TWD assignment was a classic Pizza Rustica – a lovely, savory, egg and cheese pie that is traditionally made around Easter. After making it last night, I know why. It’s a delicious way to use up five more of your Easter crop.

First, there’s a crust that’s enriched with eggs and sweeter than your typical pie crust due to a healthy addition of sugar. Easy enough to make, though a little crumbly when rolling out. For the actual recipe, visit this week’s hosts, Capital Region Dining Blog and The Place They Call Home.

Then, there’s the filling. Whereas a quiche is typically cheese and other goodies suspended in an egg and cream custard, a Pizza Rustica is mostly cheese with only a few eggs to bind. The recipe called for ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino, procuitto and parsley. Since I can never leave well enough alone, I switched it up using all the recommended cheese but substituting the meat and herbs with chopped kalamata olives and minced watercress. The olives are a salty addition and the watercress brings pepper to the dish – turned out to be a nice balance against the creamy cheesiness of the filling.

 

In the end, I had a lovely pie that made for a delicious breakfast this morning. This is one of those recipes that is easy to modify (my favorite) and good for bringing to potlucks and parties (always a plus). I think I’ll add a version of this to our brunch catering menu with pancetta, wild mushrooms and fontina. Check out what all the other TWD bakers are saying about it and let us know how yours turns out!

 

 

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