This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was Pizza Rustica. This is the first real savory recipe we’ve done so far (still doesn’t make it any less fattening!). It’s essentially a pizza made in a pie plate (literally a pizza pie). However, it is much quicker to make than a regular pizza. For starters, the dough doesn’t have any yeast, so no rising and resting time. Then the filling is a handful of ingredients mixed together (seriously, all you do is stir). Put it together in the pie plate and let it bake while you are finishing prepping dinner.
Funny thing about this pie is I actually wasn’t going to make it. We’ve all been there – you read a recipe and your heart is just not into making it. For me, the ricotta cheese turned me off. I debated on taking a “free week” since the rules say you only need to bake once a month. Still not totally decided, I hopped into the P & Q post (problems and questions post where we talk about the recipe). Some talked about doing a spinach and mushroom version. I love spinach and mushrooms, so I decided to take a chance and make it.
A good chance it was indeed. I was completely shocked at how well this turned out. I even took leftovers into work the next day for my coworkers.
The sweet buttery crust only takes a few minutes to put together with very basic ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. You could use a food processor, but I made it by hand with a pastry blender. For the filling, I drained the ricotta in a coffee filter in a colander to help reduce the liquid. I boiled fresh spinach for a few minutes and drained as much liquid as possible. Then I sautéed some onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Next, I mixed together the ricotta, spinach, mushroom mixture, parmesan cheese, Jarlsberg cheese, and prosciutto.
I’m glad this dough patches easily because my lattice strips kept breaking. Guess it wasn’t bad for my first time! I never make pie…
Big thanks to Emily of Capital Region Dining and Raelynn of The Place They Call Home for hosting this week!
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