Name: Pizza Rustica
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 3 hours
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water; 1 cup ricotta (preferably fresh or homemade ; 8 ounces); 2 large eggs, lightly beaten; 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano; 2/3 cup coarsely grated aged provolone; 3 ounces thinly sliced Italian deli meats such as soppressata, prosciutto, capicolla ham, and salami, finely chopped; 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 (9-inch) tart pan with a removable bottom; pie weights or dried beans

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Pizza RusticaDavid Cicconi

Pizza rustica looks nothing like the Neopolitan-style pizzas we know so well in this country. That's because pizza in Italian means pie and not all Italian pies are made with a bread dough. Pizza rusticas tend to be double-crusted affairs enclosing a mixture of cheese and nuggets of various cured meats and sausages. With its rich filling, pizza rustica is often served at Easter as a way to celebrate after the lean eating during Lent. In this version, author Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez makes an open-faced pizza rustica.

Cooks' notes:

Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days or frozen, wrapped well, up to 3 months.

Tart shell can be baked 2 days ahead and kept, wrapped in plastic, at room temperature.

Recipe notes

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