Re: Easter
Cheesy Easter Pie -- Torta di Pasqua al Formaggio
Cheesy Easter Pie, or Torta di Pasqua al Formaggio: This is actually a bread, rather than a pie, and is common over a broad swath of central Italy, from Umbria to the Marches, and goes by a number of names. In Umbria it's a Torta di Pasqua, whereas the Marchigiani, and especially those of the provinces of Pesaro and Ancona, know it as Crescia Brusca, and others still call it Pizza di Pasqua. It's often served as an antipasto, and is very good with cold cuts.
INGREDIENTS:
* Salt
* 3 eggs and 2 yolks
* A little rendered lard
* 1 1/2 cups (150 g) unbleached all purpose flour
* 10 ounces (250 g) bread dough (buy this from your baker)
* 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano
* 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (100 g) olive oil
* 1/4 pound (100 g) fresh pecorino (a mild sheep's milk cheese; Romano will be too sharp here), finely diced
* --
* Rodante's ingredients:
* 6 eggs per kilo of flour (he starts from scratch, without the bread dough)
* 2 ounces (60 g) rendered lard
* 1/3 cup good olive oil
* 4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano
* 2 cups moderately aged pecorino (again, not romano, which is too sharp)
* 1/4 pound (100 g) each fresh Parmigiano and fresh Pecorino, diced
* A scant 2 ounces (50 g) live yeast, dissolved in a little warm water
* A heaping tablespoon of salt
* A heaping teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
PREPARATION:
For the first set of ingredients:
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the two yolks as well; salt lightly and stir in the cheese and the olive oil. Let the mixture rest for at least four hours. Flour your work surface, spread the bread dough out over it, and work the remaining flour into it; shape the dough into a mound, scoop a well into it, put the cheese mixture into the well, and incorporate it.
Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it, and set it in a warm place to rise for at least two hours.
Once it has risen, grease a high-sided bread mold with the lard and put the dough into it. Cover the pan and let the dough rise another hour; towards the end of the hour preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
They say to bake for a half hour to 45 minutes. When it is done it should sound hollow if thumped, and begin to pull back from the sides of the mold. Let it cool for 20 minutes, and turn it out.
It can be served hot or cold, and achieves amazing grace when it's sprinkled with shaved black truffles. In their absence, it's perfect with salami or hard-boiled eggs.
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