Pizza Rustica: Italian Easter Pie
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Pizza Rustica, also known as Italian Easter Pie, is a traditional savory dish enjoyed during the Easter season. This double-crusted pie is packed with a rich, cheesy filling, including cured meats and spring greens. It is impressive, utterly delicious, and quite simple to make!
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If you love Italian food, pizza in particular, cured meats, and Mediterranean food (much like a Mediterranean Charcuterie Board), I’m confident Pizza Rustica will be a dish you will love and enjoy serving!
What is Pizza Rustica?
Pizza Rustica, also known as Italian Easter Pie, is a traditional savory torte with a similar quiche-type filling, commonly enjoyed during the Easter season in Italy and Italian-American households.
This double-crusted pie is packed with a rich, cheesy filling that often includes various types of cured meats such as prosciutto, pancetta, and salami. Cheeses also vary and traditionally include basket cheese, provolone, or other cheese options originating in Mediterranean regions.
Despite its name, Rustica isn’t much like the traditional pizza we know and love. It’s more similar to a torte, filled with a light, creamy, and cheesy filling, sometimes packed with fresh spinach, as I’ve done here.
Pizza Rustica is an impressive dish that’s fairly simple to make. The ingredients are easy to mix and match to your preferences, which is one of the things I love best about this Easter dish.
Pizza Rustica Ingredients
Specific ingredient measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Flaky double pie crust: I prefer a homemade crust in this recipe.
- Large egg yolks plus an egg for brushing the pastry before baking.
- Cheeses: Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Provolone, or your favorite cheese.
- Selection of Italian cured meats like prosciutto, smoked ham, and salami.
- Italian sausage, casings removed, and cooked. I’m using sweet Italian sausage.
- Spinach: You can use fresh spinach, but I prefer frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture. It’s easier and works well.
How to Make Pizza Rustica
Step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Begin by making a simple pastry crust using a food processor or a pastry cutter (or even your fingers) to cut cold butter into a flour mixture. Divide and chill while you prepare the filling.
While the pastry is chilling, prepare the filling and then assemble the pie:
- Cook and drain the sausage.
- Combine beaten egg yolks, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, sausage, cured meat you’re using, and spinach in a large bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9-inch springform pan.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out both portions of dough.
- Line the bottom of the pan with the larger piece of dough; pour filling into the pan. Then top with remaining dough, crimp the edges, and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the crust is golden.
- Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before releasing the sides.
Basket Cheese Substitutions
I mentioned that traditional Rustica is made with basket cheese, which is commonly found in Mediterranean regions. While it may be difficult to find in your market, you can make some common substitutions.
Cheese that is semi-soft and mild is the best substitution. These include:
- Mozarrella
- Swiss Cheese
- Ricotta
- Greek Feta
- Goat Cheese
- Cream Cheese
Storing Rustica
To store, let the Easter pie cool completely before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and chilling it for up to 5 days. Reheat gently to serve.
It can also be frozen. Let the baked pie cool before wrapping it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil and storing it, if possible, in an airtight freezer container for up to a month. You can also freeze it in its pan. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
What Part of Italy is Pizza Rustica From?
Originating from the southern regions of Italy, specifically Calabria, Campania, and Abruzzo, this dish has been prepared in various ways depending on the region, town, and family. However, the common element in all versions is a double-crusted pie filled with a cheesy, egg-based mixture.
Origins of Pizza Rustica
Pizza Rustica, commonly called “Easter Pie,” has various names depending on the location. In Naples and its surrounding areas, it is known as “pizza rupiena,” meaning “stuffed pizza,” and has been traced back to the 17th century. Italian immigrants who migrated to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought traditional recipes, including Pizza Rustica.
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Pizza Rustica Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pastry Crust:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter cold and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 4 tablespoons cold water or more as needed
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces Italian sausage casings removed
- 10 ounce frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
- 1 (15-oz) container ricotta cheese
- 12 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese cubed
- 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated (or Parmesan)
- 4 ounces prosciutto coarsely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large egg beaten for brushing the top pastry before baking
Equipment
Instructions
Make the Pastry Crust
- Combine flour, salt, butter, and olive oil in a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Pulse or cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.
- Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and add the eggs. Mix or pulse with a food processor until combined. Add cold water and mix briefly until it forms a ball. If it seems dry, sprinkle in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time until it comes together.
- Divide the dough in half with one portion a little larger than the other. The larger portion will be used for the bottom crust, and the smaller for the top. Wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
For the Filling
- While the dough is chilling, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and saute until golden, breaking it into pieces as it cooks; about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
- In a large bowl, add egg yolks and beat lightly. Then stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Stir in cooled sausage, prosciutto. and thawed and squeeze spinach. Stir to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rub a 9-inch springform pan and grease.
Assembling the Rustica
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll the larger piece into a 17-inch round. Transfer the dough to the prepared springform pan and trim the overhand to 1 inch.
- Spoon the filling into the dough-lined springform pan.
- Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round and place it over the filling. Pinch the edges to seal and then crimp to form a nice edge.
- Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg and bake until the crust is golden; about 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan and transferring the pizza to a serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
Video
Notes
- Cheeses: Use a combination of cheeses like Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Provolone, or your favorite. Basket cheeses are also commonly used. These include mozzarella, Swiss cheese, ricotta, Greek feta, goat cheese, and even cream cheese.
- Egg Wash: Combine 1 large egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the top of the pastry before baking.
- Storing: Allow the Easter pie to cool completely before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and chilling it for up to 5 days. Reheat gently to serve.
- Freezing: Let the baked pie cool before tightly wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. If possible, store it in an airtight freezer container for up to a month. You can also freeze it in its pan. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I tried this with store bought crusts but my bottom crust shrank. What did I do wrong?
I’m so sorry! Store bought crusts can be tricky and do like to shrink. The best trick to keep prepared crust from shrinking is to keep it cold. Blind baking also helps but I’ve not tried this recipe by blind baking the crust. The other alternative to prepared pie crust is prepared pizza dough or even crescent dough. You would need about 3 tubes and follow the directions as written for the homemade crust. Two-thirds would fit the sides and bottom of the springform pan and the remaining tube would be used for the top. You might also want to cut a few ventilation holes (2-3) in the top pastry. Hope this helps!
Love this! We had never tried this recipe, and now have a new favorite. Our guys loved the flavors and the hearty texture. This will be a new tradition for us!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lee! We love it too.
Your recipe omitted the prosciutto.
Thank you, Bernadette… fixed!