Recipe: Pizza Gain, Pizza Rustica (3)

Hi Kim,

Here are three different recips for "pizza gain". A lot of Italian recipes differ from region to region. They all look delicious. Good Luck with your search! Happy Easter!

Pizza Rustica

Pie Crust:
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cups butter
1/2 cups warm water

Knead ingredients, put in bowl and cover for half an hour. Grease 13 x 9 pan with butter, then roll out dough and place half in pan, then layer filling.

Filling:
3/4 pounds ham, sliced thin
1/2 pounds provolone cheese, sliced thin
1/2 pounds mozzarella, sliced thin
1/2 pounds hard salami, sliced thin

Then, beat 6 eggs and one cup of milk, pinch of pepper together and pour over filling. Sprinkle a little oregano and basil on top. Put rest of pie crust over top and pinch together, make a hole in the middle with a fork. Brush with egg yolk. Bake 400 F for 45 minutes.

Pizza Rustica

This is also known as "Pizza Gain" in many Italian dialects. This is a dish that is traditionally served at Easter.

Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Filling:
1/2 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
5 ounces spicy salami, cut into 1/3-inch dice
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for glazing

Make the dough:
Pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the sugar, eggs, egg yolks and oil to the well and blend together with a fork. Gradually incorporate the flour into the well until a dough forms. Gently knead the dough until smooth, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. Roll out two-thirds of the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or wax paper to a 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a 9-inch springform pan; it should reach about two-thirds of the way up the side of the pan. Roll out the remaining third of the dough between 2 sheets of parchment to a 9-inch round about 1/8 inch thick.
Refrigerate the dough until chilled.

Make the filling:
Preheat the oven to 350 . In a bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salami and egg yolks. Stir in the basil and salt.

Spread the filling evenly in the pastry-lined pan.
Brush the rim of the dough with some of the egg glaze and set the dough round on top; press the edge down firmly to seal and brush the top evenly with more egg glaze.

Set the springform pan on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, or until the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove the side of the pan and let the pizza cool completely.
Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the pizza to a plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

PIZZA RUSTICA

PIZZA-RUSTICA - San Felese Easter pie

This dish is traditional in my family at Easter time. I don't know how to spell the Italian name of this pie, but it sounds something like "Pizza Gain"-my father translates it as "full pie'' This recipe originated in the town of San Fele, east of Naples.

(serves 12)
CHEESE FILLING:
2 lb ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1/4 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded or chopped
6 Tbsp romano cheese, grated
6 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp dried mint leaves (do not use peppermint)
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste-depends on salt content of cheeses.
MEAT FILLING:
1 lb Italian sausage ("mild" or ``sweet'')
2 oz Italian dry salami, thinly sliced
2 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced (or any other ham)
PIZZA:
1 1/2 lb pizza dough (if you make your own dough, use about 3 cups of flour)
flour
1 egg, separated

PROCEDURE
1)Put ricotta and eggs into a large bowl and stir until well mixed. Blend in all other ingredients.

(2)Slice the sausage into rounds about 3/8 inch thick. Brown in a little oil until cooked
through. Drain, and discard grease. Cut the
salami and ham slices into strips about 1x 1/4
inches

(3)Make or thaw or unwrap the pizza dough.

(4)Mix the meats into the cheese filling. Roll the dough into two disks, one large enough to line a 10-inch round cake pan, the other large enough to cover it. Put the larger piece into the lightly-floured cake pan, molding it so that it completely lines the pan, with at least 1/2 inch hanging over the edge. Fill with the cheese-meat mixture. To allow for expansion, fill to about 1/2 inch below the top of the pan. Wet the exposed dough edge with egg white, place the other piece of dough on top, and pinch the two pieces together. Trim neatly to make a seal. Brush egg yolk over the top of the pie (this will brown during baking). Puncture the top of pie in several places with a knife (make sure the holes are large enough not to close up during baking). Bake at 350 deg. F for about an hour, until the top is browned but not burned. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature.

NOTES:
This recipe makes a very large pie. I couldn't find a big enough cake pan, so I used a cast-iron frying pan. You might try using half the quantity of ingredients in a 7-inch pan (make a little extra dough).

If possible, grate your own romano cheese. Some of the romano sold pre-grated in cardboard cylinders looks and tastes more like sawdust than cheese. "Romano" and ``parmesan'' are American names; the main difference is that romano is sharper. The mint you want to use is spearmint. It is sold as just plain "mint" in the spice section of supermarkets. Peppermint is entirely the wrong flavor.

Italian sausage is a 'fresh' sausage, i.e. uncured and uncooked. It must be cooked before eating. Depending upon where you live, the less-spicy version of it is called either "sweet" or ``mild''. When I'm really ambitious I make my own (that doesn't happen often!). The only
ingredients are pork (about 20% fat), fennel seeds, salt, and a small amount of red pepper flakes, all coarsely ground and stuffed into natural hog casings. If you can't find Italian sausage, you might try a mixture of ground pork with the above seasonings, rolled into little patties. To adjust seasonings, just pan-fry a little bit of the mixture and taste.

The cheese filling given above (without the meats) is my standard filling for lasagna, manicotti, ravioli, etc.

This same recipe can be used to make calzone. Roll out a small disk of pizza dough, put a blob of cheese/meat mixture in the middle, fold it over, seal, and bake. This is a good way to use up any filling that doesn't fit into the pie.