The original torta Pasqualina recipe

You know, when Easter is approaching in Italy the tradition has it that people celebrate rebirth, Christ’s Resurrection... and the pleasure of eating! There are several Easter recipes across Italy, but the one we want to suggest you today comes from Genoa.

Torta Pasqualina (Pasqualina pie)

The original Pasqualina pie was made of 33 (symbolizing dying Jesus’s age) thin layers of a dough prepared with flour, water and extra-virgin olive oil, and filled in with chard, quagliata (a typical Genoese cheese whose consistency is in between ricotta cheese and yogurt and with a slightly sour taste), eggs and grated cheese.

Nowadays, people make it using also puff pastry, ricotta or stracchino as an alternative to quagliata, and, besides chard, artichokes, fresh peas and spinach, that’s to say all fresh Spring vegetables.

Pasqualina pie recipe

On the understanding that you can use the vegetables you like the most, we’ll give you the original Genoese recipe.

Ingredients (using a 24 cm round baking tray)

• 400 gr flour;
• water, as much as necessary;
• 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil;
• 500 gr chard, coarsely chopped;
• 250 gr quagliata cheese;
• 9 eggs;
• 9 tablespoons of grated cheese (Parmesan, or pecorino for a stronger taste or even both);
• salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Mix flour, water and oil in a bowl and knead till you get a smooth dough. Divide it into 4 smaller pats and let them rest. In the meanwhile, cook the chard in a pan at low heat. Don’t add any water, as it will release its own while cooking. Once cooked, drip the water away and sauté it in a drizzle of oil. In a bowl, mix quagliata cheese with eggs, grated cheese, chard. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir it all till well combined.

Now, roll the pats round with a rolling pin, making sure that two layers are wider than the tray diameter. Line the greased baking tray with two layers of dough also covering its sides.

Fill in with the mixture, cover it with a layer of dough and, by using the back of a spoon, make 4 small pits where you’ll break the eggs into. Cover it with the last layer of dough and pit it with a fork. Seal the edges of the bottom layers onto the top one and brush it with oil. Bake the pie at 180°C/ 350° F for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve it hot or warm, and if any is left, this pie is your perfect packed lunch!

Sources

it.wikipedia.org - Torta pasqualina
ricettedellanonna.net - Torta pasqualina