Torta Pasqualina

A fun pie with a funny decoritive touch with the eggs...



300g plain flour, plus extra to dust
4tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 roasted artichokes in oil (160g when drained), roughly chopped
400g spinach leaves, washed
Large handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
450g ricotta, drained
50g parmesan, grated
6 large eggs

Make the pastry. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil and 150ml warm water and mix to a smooth dough. Knead for 5 min on a floured surface, until soft and stretchy. Cover with cling film and set aside for 15 min.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion for 8 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in the artichokes and toss for a few minutes. Pile on the spinach and wilt over a gentle heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat to 220c. Put the filling mixture in a food processor with the parsley, cheeses and 3 eggs. Season well, pulse and set aside.
Cut off 2/3 of the pastry and roll out on a floured surface to a 38cm circle. Use it to line the base and sides of a deep, 23-24 cm loose bottom cake tin. Spoon in the filling. Smooth and make 2 deep indents, cracking one egg into each. Roll out the remaining pastry to a 23-24cm circle and lay on top. Twist the edges to seal. Beat the remaining egg , brush over pastry and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 30-35 min until golden.

This was from a magazine called Delicious!.

The dough for this was interesting because it was just flour, oil, salt, and water, and yet it came out tasting very similar to pizza dough. It was really nice and easy to work with too. Very stretchy.

The filing was really tasty, I think it was the artichoke that gave it most of it’s flavor. The trick with the eggs was mostly just presentation, but good fun too.

The leftovers were not great, the crust got a bit soggy, but then, we ate them cold. It probably would have been much better heated up.

This was good, and it was also easy, and looked very impressive. It would be a nice thing to make if people were coming over for lunch.