Easter is near! 🕊 And it’s no coincidence that our weekly Light and Tasty column today focuses on eggs, an indispensable Easter ingredient! 🐣 For the occasion I prepared Pasqualine tartlets, a reinterpretation of the classic Pasqualina pie made with the same basic ingredients (matta dough, eggs, herbs) but presented “in sight” rather than enclosed in the pastry. Let’s say… a kind of deconstructed Pasqualina, more or less. 🤭😁
For this recipe I was inspired by a recipe from Conad’s monthly magazine, which I like a lot because it always contains recipes that suit me. I used quite different ingredients though, apart from the hard-boiled eggs (obviously!) and turmeric, an unexpected ingredient for a Pasqualina, but I loved the idea of yellow-colored dough (which matches the yolk color 😀) and I liked the idea of a vegetable nest to lay the eggs in. Well, yes, the nest idea isn’t new, but it’s an evergreen Easter classic that everyone likes and never goes out of style! 🤩
I hope you like these Pasqualine tartlets; they’re made with a few simple ingredients, are very easy to prepare, and look great on the table despite their simplicity. Try them yourself!
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Other Pasqualina recipes: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, All seasons
Ingredients
👉 The ingredients refer to four tartlets: two filled with field greens and two with arugula.
- 1 2/3 cups type 1 flour (about 200 g)
- 3 tbsp corn oil (about 40 g)
- 1 tsp turmeric (about 1 tsp (≈0.14 oz – about 4 g))
- 1/3 cup water (about 100 g)
- pepper
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cup field greens (weighed after cooking, or use chard or spinach)
- 1 cup arugula (about 20 g (loosely packed))
- 1.5 oz Quartirolo Lombardo cheese
- chives
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- pepper
Tools
- Bowl
- Cutting board
- Rolling pin
- Tart molds single-portion
- Scissors
Steps
Prepare the matta dough:
Pour the flour into a bowl.
Mix the oil and water with the turmeric and a sprinkling of pepper. Combine everything with the flour, stirring with a spoon, then knead briefly by hand.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and put them in the fridge.
Meanwhile:
Cook the hard-boiled eggs (in water for 10 minutes from boiling).
Cook the greens (for 10–15 minutes with about a finger of water and a closed lid), then sauté them for a few minutes in a pan with 1 teaspoon of oil and 1 clove of garlic (the same simple instructions as in the sautéed red chard recipe).
Wash and dry two small bunches of arugula and dress them with a drizzle of oil and a few drops of vinegar (or leave undressed if preferred).
Cut the Quartirolo into small cubes.
Finally prepare a few chive stems to use as decoration.
Form the first tartlet by taking one piece of dough from the fridge (I keep the remaining pieces chilled so the dough stays fresh and easier to work).
Roll out the dough with the rolling pin.
Cut rounds of dough with a pastry wheel to match the size of the molds (I used silicone mini tart molds).
Before baking the tartlets, cover the base with dried beans to prevent the pastry from deforming while baking.
Bake the tartlets in the oven at 356°F for 15-20 minutes.
Let them cool slightly, then assemble:
Fill two tartlets with arugula and two with the cooked greens.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut them in half.
Place a few chive stems on the arugula and the greens and lay the egg halves on top.
Add the Quartirolo cubes and some chives cut with scissors into small pieces.
Finish with a sprinkle of pepper.
🔸 The pastry is crisp. By rolling the dough thinner, with the same quantities you can make 6–8 tartlets instead of the 4 in this recipe. Matta dough is usually rolled thin to emphasize its crispness.
🔹 If you prefer a more crumbly and less crisp texture, you can replace the oil with butter.
🔸 Instead of the cooked herbs you can use classic spinach, chard, or agretti, and instead of arugula you can use lamb’s lettuce or baby spinach.
🔹 Cheese can also be substituted with other cheeses to taste, from mozzarella to robiola, or you can spread ricotta or fresh cheese on the pastry (under the vegetables).
Salt-free tips
As always, I did not add salt to this recipe. Turmeric is perfect to season it!
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember:
▫ Reduce salt gradually so the palate adapts slowly.
▫ Use spices: chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs: basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds: sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use pungent vegetables or fruit: garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granulate and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid boiling in water; prefer cooking methods that retain flavors (griddle, parcel, steam, microwave).
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Allow yourself an occasional indulgence. It’s good for your mood and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes and season them according to your habits.
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Other egg recipes from Light and Tasty:
Carla Emilia: Baked spinach and leek frittata
Claudia: Eggs stuffed with tuna and anchovies
Daniela: Baked frittata with vegetables
Elena: Aijtsuke tamago, Japanese-style marinated egg
Milena: Spiced Pak Choi with scrambled eggs
