Hello friends,
As the Easter holiday approaches, I wanted to share an Easter tradition that has been in my family for years – Pizza Rustica. While I know not all of you celebrate Easter, I still wanted to pass along this recipe that was made for Easter by my grandma for years and now I continue the tradition with my family. It is one of my favorites, and while we make it for Easter, it really can be made for any occasion. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you have a great holiday – however you celebrate!
– Darren

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Pizza Rustica Recipe

Ingredients:

Cheeses:
2 lbs Ricotta
2 lbs Basket cheese
1/2 lb Provolone
¾ lb Large Mozzarella
3 Eggs (slightly beaten)
3 tablespoons Pecorino Romano

Meats:
1 lb Prosciutto di Parma-diced
1 lb Soppressata-diced
1/2 lb Capicola-diced
1/4 lb Pepperoni-diced

Pie Dough:
6 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 lb Butter or Lard or Crisco (cut into cubes, then put in the freezer to get ice cold)
4 Eggs

Chop all filling ingredients finely & mix together
Directions/Steps:
1. Stir flour, salt & sugar together. Work shortening of choice into flour, mix the eggs in and add as much additional ice water as needed so that the dough comes together.
2. Divide part 3/4 of dough into a flat disc, do the same with the other 1/4, wrap in saran and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Use a 9 or 10 inch springform pan, using the larger amount of dough for bottom & sides, 1/4 for the top.
4. Fill with the cheese/meat mixture, but don’t pack or compress it, nevertheless making sure that there are no air bubbles in the filling.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.