Easter Pie with ricotta and spinach, perfect to serve among Easter appetizers or to prepare for the famous Easter Monday picnic, but I must tell you the truth that I make it all year round, it is so easy to make, so light and tasty that it is also perfect as a main dish both for lunch and dinner, or maybe to enjoy at work conveniently because it doesn’t need to be reheated, but those who want to enjoy it warm certainly can do so. For the Easter pie, a simple dough of water and flour with a little olive oil, the crazy dough, which I believe you all have learned to know by now, is a dough easy to prepare, without yeast, and it is very versatile, both for sweet and savory, also great for turnovers and fried ravioli or baked, strudel and much more. The recipe of the Easter pie originates from Liguria, it is usually made with chard and not spinach, and has as many as 33 layers, by now it is spread throughout the country and I like to prepare it also with small variations, I made many fewer layers of crazy dough, making it lighter, but I would never give up the base of the recipe, the crazy dough, a simple dough with water, flour, and oil that is really quick and so good, with little oil it becomes soft and delicious.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for Easter Pie
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup hot water
- 1 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.1 lbs fresh spinach
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 egg
- to taste nutmeg
- garlic and chili pepper to taste
- grated Parmesan cheese
- 1.1 lbs ricotta
- 2 eggs
- salt
- pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese
- nutmeg
- 5 eggs
- olive oil
Tools to prepare the Easter Pie
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Work surface
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Colander
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scissors
- 1 Fork
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Brush
Steps to prepare Easter Pie with Ricotta and Spinach
Wash the spinach, drain them well and cook a few at a time in a large pan, add a little oil and salt, if desired, garlic and chili pepper. Cover so they wilt quickly and we can add them all. Cook for a few minutes and let them dry well on high heat at the end. Let cool.
In a bowl, place the flour with hot water, quite hot, salt and oil, and work quickly to obtain a nice homogeneous dough, work better on a surface, to make it very elastic. Let it rest for a few minutes covered.
Take the dough again, divide it into 4 equal parts. Round them well by working the small pieces with your hands to obtain smooth balls.
Set aside one of the 4 pieces, it will be the base of our pie, divide the other pieces in half again. Round them well as before, now obtained 7 pieces, 6 smaller and one larger, cover them and let them rest for at least half an hour. Cover them with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying on the surface, or as I did directly under a glass dome, maybe using the same bowl used to mix.
In a bowl, work the ricotta to make it softer and creamier, at least from the day before, well-drained, if sheep’s milk more flavorful, but you can use any type. Add an egg, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of grated cheese to the ricotta cream. Mix well and set aside.
Drain the spinach well using a sieve, place them in a bowl and chop them with kitchen scissors, or on a cutting board with a knife. Add 2 eggs, grated cheese, a bit of nutmeg to the spinach and mix well.
Usually, separate layers of spinach cream and ricotta cream are made, I prefer to unite them then in one bowl for a homogeneous mixture that I also prefer in taste. So, join spinach and ricotta and mix.
Start rolling out the crazy dough on a slightly floured surface, starting with the larger piece, which will cover the entire tray, both base and edges.
Roll thin enough to cover a 10-inch diameter mold. Line the mold with a sheet of parchment paper, and brush with olive oil.
Lay the crazy dough itself on the oiled parchment. Brush the pastry with olive oil, and roll out the second piece, this time the smaller ones, to obtain thin sheets, smaller in diameter, to cover just the base of the mold. If it’s slightly wider, let it rise up the edges. Brush each layer with olive oil, and cover with more crazy dough, using 3 small pieces, keeping the other 3 for the top.
Once the base is ready, fill the mold with the ricotta and spinach filling.
With a spoon, move the filling to create little wells, where to add whole raw eggs, usually 4, I put 5 to make it fuller. Gradually, crack the eggs gently and let them fall into the wells obtained.
Now it’s time to close our delicious Easter pie with ricotta and spinach. Roll out another piece of crazy dough, and use it to cover the pie, placing it gently. Brush with olive oil and continue like this until the crazy dough is finished. Finally, to close well, take the edges of the sheet used to line the mold and fold them with the ones of the covering sheets, to close the filling inside. Brush again with olive oil all over the surface, finally, with scissors make small cuts on the surface to let steam escape during baking.
Ready to bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 50 minutes. Let it cool in the mold once out of the oven, only when it is well golden.
It keeps for a couple of days, in a cool place. It can also be frozen and reheated in the oven when serving.
