Tuesdays with Dorie BWJ: Pizza Rustica
April 3, 2012 at 12:01 am | Posted in BWJ, groups, other savory, savory things, tuesdays with dorie | 30 CommentsTags: baking, pie, savory
This week TWD is putting on our Easter best with Nick Malgieri’s Pizza Rustica. If you are wondering “what heck kind of pizza is this?” then think instead of cheese pie. Ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino…like calzone filling inside pie crust. This is rich and special…no wonder it is an Italian Easter tradition.
The pie dough is a pasta frolla, which is actually a sweet dough, and is used in cookies as well. A sweet dough may sound odd for a savory pie, but with the salty filling, it just works. I should note though, that I cut back the sugar in the recipe from 1/3 cup to 3 tablespoons. For me, this was just the right level of sweetness. The dough also has some baking powder in it, so it puffs a bit and reminded me a little of a biscuit. The pasta frolla is really easy to work with. If you need to patch it while rolling it out, just press it back together. For better browning, you can brush the lattice strips with a little eggwash before baking.
At the shop where I work, we make a pizza rustica almost every day. The filling has prosciutto in it and I don’t eat pork, so in the year and a half I’ve been there, I’ve never had a taste! I was really excited to make one at home that I could finally try. This recipe also has prosciutto in the filling, but I think the substitution possibilities are pretty limitless here. In mine, I went with chicken sausage and kale (both of which I cooked and cooled first), and some red pepper flakes for spice. One thing that I’ve learned from making rustica at work is that it’s important to remove any excess liquid from the filling components before assembly. The night before making my PR, I drained my ricotta in a sieve lined with a coffee filter. I also was sure to squeeze any juice out of my cooked kale before chopping it up.
I think that pizza rustica is best eaten room temperature. And you know what goes great with it? Red wine.
For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Emily’s blog, Capitol Region Dining, and Raelynn’s blog, The Place They Call Home, as they are co-hosting this recipe. Thanks, ladies! There’s also a video of Nick and Julia making the pizza rustica together. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
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I agree that this dish accomodates many variations. I don’t eat pork either, so I went with sauteed onions and roast peppers. Your pizza looks delicious.
Comment by Judy— April 3, 2012 #
Your pizza rustica is gorgeous and your substitutions sound tasty. 🙂
Comment by Wendy— April 3, 2012 #
Very pretty! The egg wash was a good idea!!!
Comment by Piebird— April 3, 2012 #
Your pizza rustica sounds very tasting, I like the kale in it.
Ulrike @Küchenlatein
Comment by Kuechenlatein (@Kuechenlatein)— April 3, 2012 #
The egg wash made a huge difference! Beautiful pizza rustica 🙂
Comment by Baker on the Rise— April 3, 2012 #
Love your crust, so shiny! This is a great recipe!
Comment by michelle— April 3, 2012 #
Yum! Yours looks great! I was thinking that if I made this again I would drain the ricotta too. Thanks for confirming my feeling. Oh and the egg wash was totally a smart move too because my little lattices stayed white white white. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to make it again! 🙂
Comment by alwaysaddmorebutter— April 3, 2012 #
Red wine? Interesting! I just enjoyed mine with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast! As always, lovely photos.
Comment by Gretchen Noelle— April 3, 2012 #
This is gorgeous! The spinach sounds delicious!
Comment by beansylovescake— April 3, 2012 #
I like the idea of adding kale and chicken sausage, yum. I didn’t think to drain the ricotta overnight, I will definitely do that next time. I have some leftover, I will have to try it with red wine today 😉
Comment by Erin— April 3, 2012 #
OMG! Looks so gorgeous and yummy!
Comment by Villy— April 3, 2012 #
Great substitutions!
Comment by Heather— April 3, 2012 #
Your pictures are absolutely lovely! Very well done. 🙂
Comment by Karen @ SoupAddict— April 3, 2012 #
Absolutely stunning. I knew I should’ve put an eggwash on mine pre-bake. 🙂
Comment by Hornedfroggy— April 3, 2012 #
WOW. I’ve never thought about doing that before. Must try!
Comment by Cap'n Stephel— April 3, 2012 #
OMG red wine. just wine period. Jealous! I’m preggers so it will be awhile yet before I have any wine… ugh. How funny that you have been exposed to pizza rustica but never tried it! 🙂 Sounds like you liked this one though! 😉
Comment by Alice— April 3, 2012 #
Glad you finally got to try it! I agree- perfect with red wine
Comment by spike— April 3, 2012 #
Steph,
Your photography is so ‘spot on’. Belongs in magazines.
~ Carmen
Comment by Baking is my Zen— April 3, 2012 #
Very lovely! Beautiful photos.
This pie definitely would stand up to a lot of filling variations.
Comment by Cher— April 3, 2012 #
I like. So you’re still at the restaurant?
Comment by Lauren's Plate— April 3, 2012 #
I am so jealous, I am really wishing I would have done the egg wash, it’s beautiful!
Comment by Amanda— April 4, 2012 #
love the sausage and kale idea…gorgeous!
Comment by thesimplegourmetkitchen— April 4, 2012 #
Beautifully, done!
Comment by susanelester— April 4, 2012 #
Your filling sounds really delicious!
Comment by Jill— April 4, 2012 #
So pretty! Nicely done.
Comment by Stephanie B— April 5, 2012 #
Absolutely beautiful! And chicken sausage with kale sounds divine!
Comment by heathersbytes— April 5, 2012 #
Oh wow, nice browning on top! Sounds like you have a great and fun job!!
Comment by lauren— April 6, 2012 #
love that you added kale! had to sit this one out-worst cold in a long time kept me out of the kitchen. as one professional baker to another, don’t you love being able to use those work skills at home? i have learned more from trial and error at work than at home!
beautiful pizza!
alisa
Comment by janeofmanytrades— April 7, 2012 #
Your photo’s of the pizza rustica are beautiful-nice browning of the lattice.
Comment by Jan Nilsen— April 10, 2012 #
That is one beautiful pie. Could not be more perfect.
Comment by Cathleen— April 13, 2012 #