Torta pasqualina

Name: Torta pasqualina
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 90 min
Yield: 10

The savoury Italian torta pasqualina oozes spring, right down to its name—pasqualina meaning “Easter.” As you might have guessed, it’s the perfect Easter lunch showstopper! Filled to the brim with crunchy greens, silky ricotta, and whole eggs, the torta pasqualina is nutritious, festive and (most importantly) delicious. Even better, you can serve it for brunch, lunch or dinner—it’s really versatile. Plus, you can turn to ready-made puff pastry to simplify things a little. It does require a bit of time and skill to prepare, but trust us, it’s worth it. This recipe was developed by our very own Michele Forgione (co-founder of the Stefano brand and our favourite chef) and even appeared in the Panoram Italia magazine. Try it once, and we guarantee you’ll be serving it every Easter from now on!

Preparation 25 min

Cooking time 90 min

Portions 10

Plan at least 2.5 to 3 hours in total for the making of this dish, including cooling time.

Perfect with my PINOT GRIGIO

Ingredients

400 g (about 16 cups or 4 large bunches) fresh spinach

400 g (about 16 cups or 4 bunches) chard

500 g (2 cups) ricotta

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 eggs (divided)

2 sheets store-bought puff pastry

9 hard-boiled eggs (8 minutes)

Preparation

Wash the spinach and chard leaves carefully under cold, running water to get rid of any sand or grit. Shake off the excess water and put the vegetables directly into a large saucepan with a lid.
Set the heat to low, cover the pan, and leave the greens to wilt for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool completely.
When the spinach and chard are cool, wring out excess water and blend them for a few seconds, just until the greens are chopped into small pieces. Alternatively, you could also chop them using a knife.
Place the chopped spinach and chard in a large bowl. Add the ricotta. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in 2 of the raw eggs. Set aside.
Grease a deep 20-cm round cake pan and line it with one of the puff pastry sheets. Pour in the spinach-chard-ricotta filling. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes.
Using a large spoon, carefully make 9 holes (large enough to hold an egg) in the cooled spinach-chard-ricotta filling. Place a hard-boiled egg into each of the holes.
Cut an 18-cm circle out of the second sheet of puff pastry (a circle a bit smaller than the full diameter of the cake pan). Place it carefully on top of the filling. With a sharp knife, score a cross into the puff pastry that covers the 9 eggs so that when you slice the torta, you will cut the eggs in half.
Beat the remaining raw egg with a fork and brush the top disk of puff pastry with it. Gently fold the edges of the bottom puff pastry to join the top disk, and seal the torta. Brush the top puff pastry sheet again with the beaten egg and refrigerate the torta for 30 minutes.
While the torta is in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Make a small hole in the centre of the torta with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. If you like, you can also score a decorative pattern. Brush one final layer of beaten egg and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
Leave the cooked torta on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before unmoulding.
Allow the torta to cool completely and serve at room temperature.