Pizza Rustica Timbale - IBS Kitchn — Pizza Rustica Timbale- IBS Kitchn

What the Heck IS Pizza Rustica?

Easter Pizza Rustica pie is not a pizza; it is more like an Italian quiche, and my mother and granny always made it for Christmas or Easter. I remember the crust was always golden brown and flaked in concentric circles on top.

The only meat my family added to this pie was prosciutto, but thanks to the internet, I have learned that Pizza Rustica is made all over Italy, and often it contains hard salami, ham, or mortadella. Italians add whatever meat they wish. Vegetarians can ignore adding meat and just add vegetables like fried peppers, fried zucchini, or whatever seems good at the time.(Picture above is an unbaked pizza rustica.) IBS folk can adapt ingredients for IBS safety. To make this recipe low fodmap, I would use GF pie crust, lactose free ricotta, lactose free mozzarella cheese and well aged parmesan cheese such as reggiano parmigiana.

What every pizza rustica does have in common is a good flaky crust and a ricotta filling made with eggs, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Serve this as a first course on Easter, or the Saturday night before a holiday, with a big Caesar salad. If you have family staying with you, this pie serves a crowd and tastes wonderfully rich, creamy, salty, crusty all at the same time. So good.

Can You Make Pizza Rustica Ahead?

That is the beauty of this glorious Italian quiche like pie that makes a grand introduction to Easter or any holiday dinner. It can be made a month ahead and carefully wrapped and frozen. Then when you are ready to serve it, bake it according to the directions below.

I give the directions for the special pie crust, but let’s be honest, time is short at holiday time. Feel free to use Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust or GF pie crust for low fodmap. If you don’t want to brush it with melted lard, DON’T. Just roll it out and lay it on top of the filling, crimp, vent for steam and bake.

Note for IBS Folk: To make this pie gluten free, low fodmap and IBS safe, use GF dough; use lactose free ricotta and mozzarella. If you can’t find lactose free ricotta you might try lactose free cottage cheese. I never have done this, so I can’t really say how it comes out. If you do it, let me know how it turns out.

You can make the filling and put it into your store bought refrigerated pie dough and then follow my directions for baking. See? Pure honesty here. Why? Well, on occasion I don’t make my own crust either. Now that my mom and granny are in Heaven, they will not be tasting my pizza rustica. lol.

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups flour

2 tbsp. solid leaf lard or Crisco shortening

1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk

1/2 cup warm water

pinch of salt

2 or 3 tbsp. melted lard or shortening to brush on dough

OR use 2 boxes Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust for a 9″ springform pan

Processing the dough — processing the pizza rustica dough

Directions:

Place the flour, shortening or lard and salt in a food processor and pulse enough for the shortening to disperse throughout. Add the egg and yolk and pulse again until incorporated. Add the water and pulse just until the dough, when you press it together, will stay together. Gather it up into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 min. or more.

Take out the chilled dough and cut in half with the top crust a bit larger than the bottom. Roll out the bottom crust and place into a 9″ or 10″ non-stick spring form pan. Cover with waxed paper so it won’t dry out.

Rolling out the dough — Roll out the pizza rustica dough – IBS Kitchn

Roll out the top crust. Brush all over with melted lard or shortening. Roll up using the longest edge into a tube. Cut down the middle of the tube with a serrated knife, making sure you don’t go all the way through.

Coil the dough like a garden hose. Place on a piece of floured wax paper. Use another piece of floured wax paper on top of the dough. Smack it a few times with your rolling pin to loosen it up. Roll it out, cut side up, until it is one or two inches larger than the 9″ pie pan. Cover with wax paper so it won’t dry out while you make your filling.

roll pizza rustica dough lengthwise - IBS Kitchn — roll pizza rustica dough lengthwise

Blog Pictures of pizza rustica 066 — Cut down the center of the rolled up dough

roll up the cut dough like a snail-ibskitchn.com — Roll up the cut dough like a snail – ibskitchn.com

roll up dough like a snail - ibskitchn.com — roll up dough like a snail – ibskitchn.com

I Can’t Make Pie Crust – Help Me!

If you absolutely can’t face making your own pie dough, you could use a prepared pie crust, roll it out and fill pie pan for bottom crust. Then, roll out top crust to fit. Flute edges like in the picture.

If you decide to roll and cut your pie crust in imitation of my mom’s method, I have been told that a prepared crust rolled out this way comes out as flaky as the homemade one, and this was from my mom’s sister, who told me not to tell. Well she and mom are together in Heaven now, so Auntie probably has already confessed. As for me, now that I am older, I just use 2 boxes of the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust for my 9″ or 10″ springform pan. Onward to the filling.

Filling:

Ingredients:

1 lb whole milk mozzarella (Like Polly O) (use lactose free for low fodmap)

3/4 lb 1/8″ thick, sliced prosciutto, diced up

1 cup diced sopressata salami or other salami type cold cut (optional)

1/2 – 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (Reggiano parmigiana))

3 cups fresh whole milk ricotta cheese (lactose free if needed) (drain in a sieve for an hour if your ricotta brand is too watery)

fresh ground pepper

taste for salt before adding a pinch

5 whole eggs

Cube the mozzarella cheese. Cut up the prosciutto and sopressata (if using) as suggested above. Place the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, prosciutto, sopressata (if using), pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix together using a large wooden spoon. Pour the filling into the pie pan on top of the bottom crust you placed in your springform pan.

Top with the top crust that you have rolled out and placed on top of the filling. Crimp edges as shown below.

You can then either wrap in plastic and then in foil and freeze until ready to serve, or you can bake it because you plan to eat it when it is done.

To Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap pie and remove plastic and foil. You can place an aluminum pie ring around the crust to prevent it from burning. Bake the pie for one hour and see if it seems done.

I bake it from frozen for 1 and 1/2 hours. I test at one hour but it is usually not done in the middle and not brown enough on top. When top is a deep golden brown and internal temp is hot, remove to a rack to cool. Cool for ten minutes. Then tent with foil. It will keep warm up to an hour in case you are not yet ready to serve it. You can also serve it at room temperature or even cold.

Last year when I removed the spring form sides, the pie was gorgeous – a rich golden brown all over. The crust edges were very deep brown and I feared they would taste burnt, but they tasted wonderful. I was thrilled. It was worth all the time and anxiety. Everyone raved and I basked in the glory.