Easter Pie

According to my philosopher husband, “Easter Pie participates in the form of the good more than any other egg recipe.” Easter Pie is not a dessert pie, but a complete meal in itself. This is an amazing recipe and we look forward to having it each year, even though it is an intense recipe at an intense time of year, with all our planting, finishing up school, and taking the kids to baseball practice and games! But it is soooo worth it!

This recipe is again from A Continual Feast, by Evelyn Birge Vitz, which I highly recommend! You can make the recipe as she says, or you can make your own go-to pie crust recipe (see Joy of Cooking if you need a go-to recipe), or you can make a quick puff pastry crust for the special occasion (see Quick-Puff Pastry recipe), although these options will not have the 33 layers she describes.

Again, the back story is from Evelyn Birge Vitz.

Easter Pie: Torta Pasqualina

This extraordinary torta is a Genovese Easter specialty. When made completely from scratch, it is a difficult and time-consuming dish because it requires many layers of thin dough. I have simplified it here by the use of phyllo pastry, which can be bought in many groceries (and in shops specializing in Greek or Balkan foods). By using this very thin pastry, we can keep one of the old traditions associated with this dish: the use of thirty-three layers of dough, one for each year of Christ’s life. The eggs pick up the Easter theme–one egg for each of the Apostles? The greens, presumably, evoke the renewal of life in the spring.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beet greens or spinach [or chard, mustard greens, kale, etc.], or around 10 artichoke hearts

1/2 onion, finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon marjoram

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/4 pounds ricotta cheese

3/4 cup heavy cream

salt

1 one-pound package Phyllo pastry (or maybe an extra package if you want to be sure to have 33 layers) [or Quick-Puff Pastry dough]

1 cup olive oil (more if needed)

12 medium eggs

Freshly ground pepper

4 tablespoons melted butter

You will need a 12-inch springform pan (or a large, deep pie or baking pan of similar or slightly larger dimensions); it should be 2 to 3 inches deep.

If using beet greens or other greens, wash them carefully in several changes of water. Chop fine, and cook until just soft in as little water as possible; press out the moisture. If using canned artichoke hearts, drain and chop coarse.

In the olive oil saute the onion until it is soft and translucent, but not brown. Add the well-drained greens or artichokes, and mix them well with the onion. Saute gently together for a minute or two. Remove from the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the marjoram, and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Mix well. Let cool.

Mix the ricotta with the cream. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Remove the phyllo pastry from its package, but keep it covered carefully with plastic wrap or a moist towel as much of the time as possible: it dries out very easily.

Brush the baking dish with oil. Lay in place the first layer of pastry, extending edges up the sides of the pan; brush lightly with oil; trim off dangling edges. Continue in the same procedure for 15 more pieces of pastry: 16 in all. If you are using a 12-inch pan, your pastry may well be a little too narrow for the pan. Just lay each layer of pastry at a slightly different angle from the preceding one, so that you are moving around the pan.

Spread the 16th layer with the cooked vegetable mixture. On top of this spoon the ricotta and cream. In this filling make 12 well. Into each well break an egg: try to keep the eggs (especially the yolks) confined to their wells as much as possible [I have never had success keeping them in their own wells, but it still tastes great!]. Sprinkle the eggs with salt, pepper, and the rest of the parsley, marjoram, and Parmesan. Pour the melted butter over the top.

Over this filling place the remaining 17 layers of the phyllo pastry, following the same procedure as before. Brush the top layer generously with oil. Press down the edges firmly, and trim off excess pastry.

Bake at 375 F for about 1 hour, or until the pie is golden brown. Serve hot, lukewarm, or cold.

Yield: 12 servings