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    Baked products

    Torta Pasqualina with Grana Padano PDO

    Group 393

    Hard

    Group 382

    8 people

    90 min

    Chef Danilo Cortellini

    Torta Pasqualina is a traditional Italian savory pie enjoyed during Easter. It originates in Liguria but it is known all across northern Italy. The Pasqualina has a flaky crust and a soft filling of ricotta, spinach and whole eggs, all enriched with a good sprinkle of grated Grana Padano PDO cheese.
    The easter symbols in this pie are both the hidden whole eggs in the filling and the 33 layers of dough (like the years of Christ) that traditions wants you to use in the making of Torta Pasqualina. Now I admit I’ve cut corners here, making only about 12 layers, please forgive me for this :).
    This is definitely a little labor of love but if done ahead of time, can be a delicious alternative for the easter lunch main course.
    I personally love the fact that this pie stays well in the fridge for a few days once cooked, as it is delicious when re-heated!

    Ingredients

    • For the dough:
    • 500 gr of plain flour
    • 300 gr of water
    • 1 pinch of salt
    • 30 gr of grated Grana Padano
    • 30 ml extra olive oil
    • Exra flour to dust
    • For the spinach filling:
    • 500 gr of rinsed and drained spinach
    • 50 gr of grated Grana Padano cheese
    • 50 gr of ricotta
    • 2 whole eggs
    • 2 cloves of garlic
    • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    • For the ricotta filling:
    • 500 gr of fresh ricotta
    • 2 whole eggs
    • 80 gr of grated Grana Padano
    • 1 sprig of marjoram leaves, picked
    • Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
    • To build the pie:
    • 4 whole eggs
    • Olive oil to grease
    • 60 gr of grated Grana Padano cheese

    Preparation

    STEP 1

    First get the dough done. Mix all the ingredients together and once bind and pliable knead well until you have a smooth and elastic dough. You can do this by hands or with a standalone mixer. Now divide the dough into dough balls of about 80/90 gr each but make sure you have at least one that is 100/120 gr to use as bottom layer for the pie. Cover the dough balls with film or with a cloth and let them rest on the side while you prepare the pie’s fillings.

    STEP 2

    Fort he spinach filling heat in a large pan the olive oil with the peeled and crushed garlic cloves and fry for 1 minute until golden. Now add the spinach, season to taste with salt, add a Little ladle of water and cover with a lid. The steam will wilt the spinach in a matter of 2 minutes. Stir a couple of times and when cooked remove from the heat and let them cool.
    Remove the garlic and drain the water excess than chop the spinach roughly. Mix the spinach with the ricotta, eggs and Grana Padano cheese until homogeneous, season to taste and keep aside.

    STEP 3

    For the ricotta filling I recommend draining the ricotta as much as you can first. You can even go as far as pat dry it with kitchen paper if the ricotta looks very watery. Now mix the ricotta with the eggs, the marjoram, the Grana Padano cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix until smoothish and keep aside.

    STEP 4

    Now the time-consuming part of the recipe, building up your pie! Take the larger dough ball and the patience and care roll it into a thin disc. It needs to be as thin as you can and large enough to cover the base of your cake tin. You can dust flour as needed if the dough sticks and be gentle as you don’t want to tear it. Once the disc is done, grease the tin with a layer of olive oil and carefully let the dough disc slide into it, covering all sides.

    STEP 5

    Now proceed to roll at least 5/6 of the other dough balls of about the same thickness and layer them on the tin with a drizzle of oil between each sheet. It doesn’t matter if you press well or if the sheets don’t cover all the edges or sides of the tin, once you add the fillings the sheets will flat out with the weight.

    STEP 6

    Now add first the spinach filling and spread it evenly. Top it with the ricotta filling and spread evenly. At this stage use a spoon to create 4 wholes for the whole eggs to be nested in. Carefully place the eggs in, add a pinch of salt on each egg and cover everything with abundant grated Grana Padano cheese.

    STEP 7

    All is left to do now is to cover the pie with the remaining dough balls, repeating the operation of rolling, drizzling of oil and repeat, until you have finished the dough and reach the top side of the tin. Now add a last drizzle of oil on the top, remove the excess of dough on the side of the tin and fold the edges in. Pierce lightly the top of the pied so that it can ‘breath out’ during the baking and cook in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for about 90/100 minutes, until well golden on top and firm.Now the time-consuming part of the recipe, building up your pie! Take the larger dough ball and the patience and care roll it into a thin disc. It needs to be as thin as you can and large enough to cover the base of your cake tin. You can dust flour as needed if the dough sticks and be gentle as you don’t want to tear it. Once the disc is done, grease the tin with a layer of olive oil and carefully let the dough disc slide into it, covering all sides.

    STEP 8

    Once the pie is out of the oven let it cool slightly before removing it from the tin and slice it into portions while still warm but not piping hot.
    This pie is great even at room temperature or re-heated the day after.

    Chef’s tip

    The inner layers of dough will absorb all the humidity from the filling, so without a doubt they can look soggy. Don’t overthink that, trust the process, cook the pie until well golden on top for an outer flaky crust that will make up for the softer spots.

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