Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Pie)

Illustration generated by AI. The recipe is hand-curated and checked by MealPrep's allergen, diet and nutrition rules.

Italian · 245 min · Pork

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 lb whole-milk ricotta
• 1 1/2 oz low-moisture mozzarella, diced
• 1/4 cup pecorino romano, grated
• 1 oz Genoa salami, diced
• 1 oz deli ham, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Method (tap to check — screen stays awake)

1. Make the dough: pulse flour, 1 tsp salt, and cold cubed butter until pea-sized, then work in 2 beaten eggs and 3-4 tbsp ice water until it just holds together. Press into two disks (one twice the size of the other), wrap, and chill 1 hour.
2. Set the ricotta in a fine strainer over a bowl while the dough chills — draining off the whey keeps the pie sliceable instead of weepy.
3. Toast the fennel seeds and crushed red pepper in a dry skillet 2 minutes until fragrant, then crush lightly — this fennel-chile seasoning is the house signature in an otherwise old-country pie.
4. Heat the oven to 375F. Mix the drained ricotta with 5 eggs, the salami, ham, mozzarella, pecorino, parsley, the toasted fennel-chile seasoning, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. No added salt — the meats and pecorino handle it.
5. Roll the larger dough disk to line a 9-inch springform pan with 2 inches coming up the sides. Fill with the ricotta mixture.
6. Roll the smaller disk into a lid, lay it over, pinch the edges sealed, and cut four vents. Beat the last egg and brush it over the top.
7. Bake 75-85 minutes until deep golden and an instant-read thermometer in the center reads 160F. Tent with foil at the 50-minute mark if it's browning fast.
8. Cool in the pan a full hour before releasing the ring — this pie is traditionally served warm or room temperature, and cutting hot collapses it.

Nutrition figures are estimates. Verify allergens on every ingredient label before cooking.

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