Savory Easter egg made with puff pastry filled with artichokes: an easy and quick artichoke savory pie shaped like an Egg, perfect as part of the many Easter and Easter Monday appetizers, tasty and decorative. If you are still searching for recipes to complete the Easter menu, this appetizing vegetarian savory pie filled with artichokes in the shape of an Egg will amaze your guests. To make it I used two rolls of puff pastry which you can make at home with the recipe for homemade puff pastry or buy ready-made. You can also use only puff pastry or even store-bought pizza dough or a homemade dough. For the filling I chose to use artichoke hearts, cream cheese and mozzarella, but you can also make a ricotta and spinach filling, as in the puff pastry Easter egg with ricotta and spinach, and if you don’t like spinach, you can replace it with broccoli, as in the recipe for broccoli and ricotta savory pie or with any other vegetable you prefer. The savory pie shaped like an Easter egg filled with artichokes and cream cheese is easy to make, appetizing and decorative. Let’s go to the kitchen and prepare it together; first, as always, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here), my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter, Spring
Ingredients to make the Savory Easter Egg with Artichokes
- 2 rolls puff pastry (round or rectangular)
- 6 artichoke hearts (about 11 oz (approx. 300 g))
- 3.5 oz cream cheese
- to taste salt
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste egg (beaten for finishing)
- 3.5 oz mozzarella for pizza (or provola)
- to taste black pepper
- to taste sesame seeds
Tools
- Bowl
- Oven
- Skillet
Steps to make the savory Easter egg with artichokes
Rinse the artichokes under running water, choose the tenderest ones, those that still have the shape of a closed bud. Remove the outer leaves, trim the stem and peel it thoroughly. Then cut off the top of the flower and use only the heart.
As you go, collect the hearts in a bowl with acidulated water; the acidity will prevent them from darkening. Once all the hearts are prepared, slice them thinly, heat a clove of garlic with a good glug of oil.
Add the hearts, season with salt and cook for about ten minutes over low heat, without adding water unless strictly necessary. Once flavored, browned and cooked, remove the garlic and transfer them to a bowl.
Mix in the cream cheese, stir, set aside and let cool.
Unroll the first roll of puff pastry, using a cardboard template in the shape of an egg cut out the base and fill it with the artichoke hearts, keeping at least about 3/8 in (1 cm) from the edges, add slices of cheese as desired and sprinkle with pepper. Cut the other roll of puff pastry in the same way and cover the filling.
Seal the edges and then fold them inward to make a rim.
Make light cuts on the surface of the pastry. Use the scraps filled with some cream cheese and overlap them, then shape them into a large bow to place on top of the egg.
Brush with beaten egg, decorate with a few slices of artichoke heart, sprinkle with seeds and bake in a hot oven at 392°F, conventional setting for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly, move the puff pastry egg to a serving plate, decorate with a ribbon and serve immediately while still warm. You can assemble the egg in advance, even the day before, and bake it just before serving, or finish it and reheat it shortly before serving; I personally prefer the first option so the pastry stays crisp. Store any leftovers in the fridge and consume within 24 hours.
Variations and tips
To make this egg-shaped appetizer you can use pizza dough or puff pastry; you can replace the artichoke hearts with spinach, broccoli, Swiss chard, asparagus, cauliflower or any vegetables you like. You can also use frozen vegetables.
