The Easter season is one of my favorite times of the year. Yes, I enjoy the hustle and bustle (and the cookies!) of Christmas time. I love the carolers and the beautifully decorated houses, and even the inflatable lawn ornaments. I especially love perpetuating my family traditions through cooking and baking, and learning about the cherished traditions of others. But the reality is that Christmas has become a multi-billion dollar marketing bonanza controlled by the retailers, where bigger, brighter and grander is always better. They tell us what to want and how much of it we need to make our lives complete. Sorry, but I don’t need some corporate honcho in an ivory tower defining my wants and needs!

Easter time is about reflection, quiet joy and renewal - the promise of rebirth and hope. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Easter usually falls in the early spring. To me, spring is also about rebirth, renewal and hope. The best part of it is that no one is shoving any iPhones or XBox 360 consoles down my throat!

One of the things that my family looks forward to each year at this time is enjoying the many traditional Italian baked goods associated with the season. They’re not fancy. There’s no Swiss meringue, chocolate ganache, puff pastry towers or spun sugar decorations in the lot. Just simple, rustic goodness made by loving hands and warm hearts. One of my family’s favorites is Pizza Rustica.

Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian savory pie with a ricotta base, which is then filled with a variety of meats and cheeses. The name literally means “rustic pie”. My Pizza Rustica is big, cheesy, creamy and gooey hunk of a pie stuffed to the gills with six, count ‘em, SIX different kinds of cured and fresh MEAT! Though many recipes for Pizza Rustica specify that the meat, cheese and other filling ingredients should be layered, I like to make mine, “Napolitano style”, so I cut them up and mix them into the ricotta filling. It makes it a lot easier to cut the pie into slices. Plus, you get a little bit of each ingredient in every bite.

I like to mix a little lemon zest into my crust, and my Mom absolutely insists that you also must add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. She’s been making this pie since before I was born, so who am I to argue?

Most recipes for Pizza Rustica call for something called dry “basket cheese”. Basket cheese is a very mild and lightly salted dry cheese made from cow’s milk. It gets its name from the way it is formed – inside a basket. Here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, basket cheese can be difficult to track down. You can easily substitute dry mozzarella, however, which can be found in any supermarket.

I also use a rich, dense specialty ricotta called Ricotta Impastata that I get from a local Italian market. If you can find some, grab it. It really makes a difference in the texture of this pie. If not, drain your regular whole milk ricotta overnight in some cheesecloth over a bowl to get rid of the extra liquid.

Pizza Rustica is best eaten when it is completely cooled and the filling has had time to set up a bit. You can even eat it right out of the fridge. Although it is traditionally enjoyed at Easter time, with a tossed salad or a bowl of soup, it makes a great meal anytime.

PIZZA RUSTICA

Makes one 9-10 inch pie.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 pounds whole milk ricotta (Use the good stuff. It makes a difference!)
4 large egg yolks and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces dry basket cheese or dry mozzarella cheese, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1-inch strips
6 ounces thinly sliced mortadella, cut into 1-inch strips
4 ounces thinly sliced sweet sopressatta
4 ounces thinly sliced hot sopressatta
6 ounces thinly sliced capicola ham, cut into 1-inch strips
1 batch pastry dough (recipe follows)
Egg wash: 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Position a rack on the bottom third of the oven, and preheat to 375 F.
2. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and fry until browned, breaking up the sausage into small pieces as it cooks. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta and Parmesan cheese, mixing well. Add the mozzarella cubes, the sausage and all of the cured meats and stir to combine. This step will definitely build up your biceps. You may even want to use your hands for this, but hey, when else do you get a free pass to play with your food! Set aside and begin assembling the pie.
4. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll, let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 16-17 inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. Gently press the dough to fit the inside of the pan, going up the sides as well. Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch. Save the scraps for patching up any holes.
5. Spoon the filling into the dough-lined springform pan.
6. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal, and fold the edges of the dough inward and crimp with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Brush the egg wash over the entire pastry top, and cut a few 2-inch slits in the top to let the steam escape.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the pie comes out clean and the crust is golden brown, about 60-75 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Let pie cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Release the pan sides and transfer pie to a platter. When cooled, cut into huge wedges and serve.

PASTRY DOUGH FOR PIZZA RUSTICA

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
2 sticks (1 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
4 large eggs, beaten lightly

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and zest together in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times, just to mix them up.
2. Toss the cold pieces of butter into the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is broken down and the mixture resembles a coarse, sandy meal.
3. Drizzle in about half of the beaten eggs and pulse several times. Pinch a bit between your fingers. If it holds together, you have used enough egg. If not, drizzle in more egg, about 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue pulsing until the dough holds together when pinched. Process a few more seconds, until the dough forms into one big clump. The dough should be smooth and soft, but not sticky. If it looks crumbly or dry, add a few drops of water or cream. If it’s sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour. You kind of have to use your judgment here.
4. Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into two disks, one about 1/3 larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

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