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A close up of a slice of Pizza Rustica
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5 from 7 votes

Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Pie)

Pizza Rustica is an incredible Italian Easter pie made with a flaky and buttery pie crust and filled with eggs, ricotta, salami, and cheese. This recipe makes a truly special pie that's packed with flavour and looks really impressive.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Chilling time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 546kcal
Author: Emily Wyper

Ingredients

Pastry (pie crust)

  • 9 oz cold unsalted butter (250g) plus extra for greasing
  • 3.5 cups Italian 00 Flour or Plain flour (500g)
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 beaten egg for brushing
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Filling

  • 8 large eggs
  • 1 cups ricotta (250g)
  • 2 cups salami cubed (240g)
  • 1 cup smoked Scamorza cheese cubed (200g) can also use another firm cheese such as Fontina or Provolone.
  • cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated (40g)
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper to season

Instructions

Make the pastry

  • Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Tip into a food processor, add the cubed cold butter (9oz/250g) and blitz until it resembles fine crumbs.
  • Tip the butter and flour mixture back into the bowl, make a well in the middle and add 3 large beaten eggs.
  • Mix everything together until a dough starts to form then using your hands gently knead the dough to form a ball. You just want to bring the dough together until fully incorporated and smooth, don’t over knead.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the filling

  • Cut the salami and smoked scamorza (or cheese of choice) into ½ inch cubes, set aside.
  • Mix 8 large eggs in a large bowl with the ricotta until smooth and most of the lumps have gone. Add the cubed salami (2 cups), Scamorza (1 cup), grated Pecorino cheese (⅔ cup) and black pepper and mix to combine.

To assemble

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350F (180C) and grease a 9-10 inch pie dish with butter.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into two. Roll out the first half into a large rough circle about ¼ inch thick (3-4mm).
  • Place the dough over your pie dish and tuck in the edges. Pour the filling into the pie then roll out the second half of dough.
  • Place the top over the pie, press it very lightly so it touches the filling and press it up the sides of the pie dish so the filling is completely encased.
  • Trim the edges of the pie with a sharp knife and press the edges together with a fork to seal it. If you find the pastry isn’t sticking together you can dab the edges lightly with water to help it stick.
  • Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and make an incision in the middle to let steam out. Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden brown and cooked through.
  • The pie is best eaten cold or slightly warm so let it cool before serving.

Video

Notes

  • Flavour variations - you can pretty much choose any kind of meats and cheese you like. Mortadella, prosciutto cotto (ham) or any kind of salami will work. I prefer to cut it into cubes but you can also cut up slices if that's all you have.
  • Cheese - We used smoked Scamorza cheese which is mild and creamy but you can use almost any kind of firm cheese you like. I recommend Fontina, Provolone or Mozzarella.
  • Less is more - don't go overboard with the filling options I find that 1-2 meats and 1-2 cheeses (not including the ricotta) is all you need.
  • No added salt - if you use cured meat like salami you won't need to add any additional salt or the whole dish will be overly seasoned.
  • Let it cool - make sure to let the pie cool before cutting into slices.
  • Serving suggestions - Pizza Rustica is best served cold, it just tastes so much better. I like to serve it as it is or will a fresh side salad like our simple arugula salad with lemon.
  • Storage - the pie will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 245mg | Sodium: 1026mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 974IU | Calcium: 228mg | Iron: 3mg