Torta Pasqualina
In Italy, torta pasqualina, or Easter cake, is a traditional Easter country dish. It is beautiful and, more importantly, really tasty! It makes the most out of the season's greens - spinach, chard, borage, even artichokes. I have used bietole (chard) as it grows wild and with great abandon here at La Predicata. It seems we can never run out.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1kg Swiss chard, stalks removed and roughly chopped, leaves cut into 1cm slices
1 stick celery, trimmed and finely chopped
15g parsley, roughly chopped
20g dill, roughly chopped
½ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
250g ricotta
150g full fat Greek yoghurt
75g parmigiano, grated
7 eggs
1/4 tsp salt and black pepper
500g puff pastry, 2 round sheets
Instructions
Heat the oven to 190C/370.
Put a large sauté pan for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat. Add the oil and onion, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is soft and starting to colour.
Add the chard stalks and celery, cover and cook for five minutes.
Stir in the chard leaves and cook for five minutes more, until the leaves have wilted and the stalks and celery have softened. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little.
Once cooled, using either a clean tea towel or simply your hands, squeeze the liquid from the chard. You want the mixture to be as dry as possible.
Transfer the chard mixture to a bowl and add the herbs, spices, cheese, ricotta, yoghurt, 1 1/2 eggs (retain the other 1/2 to wash the pastry), salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Oil a 25cm/10” spring form tin with 7cm high sides. Lay in one sheet of pastry. Gently press the pastry into the corners of the tin and allow to overhang the edge slightly.
Tip the chard mixture into the tin, level and use a spoon or small glass to create five egg-sized indents. Break an egg into each.
Lay the 2nd sheet of pastry on top of the eggs and chard and trim to the tin size. Pinch the lid and base together to make sure it's secure.
Brush the ½ egg over the lid, then prick a few times with a fork being careful not to puncture an egg.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until cooked and golden brown.
Leave to cool for half an hour, and serve warm or at room temperature.