Pizza Rustica

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 (12-ounce) bunches fresh spinach, stemmed, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups), or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed and drained
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped
4 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
Pastry Dough, recipe follows
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Position the rack on the bottom of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausages and saute until golden brown, breaking the sausage into pieces, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts and the juices evaporate, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Squeeze the spinach to drain as much liquid as possible.

Into a large bowl, add egg yolks and beat lightly. Stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Add the sausage, the spinach and prosciutto to the mixture and stir to combine.

Roll out larger piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 17-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch springform pan. Trim the dough overhang to 1 inch. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dough-lined pan. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges of the doughs together to seal, then crimp the dough edges decoratively. Brush the beaten 1 large egg over the entire pastry top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the top. Bake on the bottom shelf until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour.

Let stand 15 minutes. Release the pan sides and transfer the pizza to a platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Pastry Dough:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Blend the flour, the butter, the shortening and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in the eggs. With the machine running, add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, with 1 piece twice as large as the second piece. Flatten the dough pieces into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes.

Ann

Home Cookin Chapter: Sues recipes

Pizza Rustica
=============
Sue's Fathers recipe

Makes 4 pies

4 lb Whole-milk ricotta
1 C Grated Romano cheese
8 Large eggs
2 lb Whole-milk mozzarella - cubed
1 Italian pinwheel sausage - plain, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
(Can use regular sausage - remove casing, cook in fry pan)
1 lb Genoa salami or Supresata - sliced 1/4 inch thick, diced.
8 Eggs - hard boiled - diced
8 Deep-dish pie shells (4 will be used as top crust)
1 Egg wash (1 Egg - beaten w/2 T. water)
.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Thaw pie shells for 15-30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aide mixer) add ricotta and
grated cheese - mix well
Add eggs, on at a time, blending well after each addition.
Add mozzarella, pinwheel sausage, and salami - mix well.
Fold in hard-boiled eggs.

Divide filling among 4 pie shells.
Cut the crimped edges off the remaining shells and invert over each
filled pie shell.
Be sure to cover all of filling.

Cut 8 slits in each top crust.
Brush crust with egg wash.

Place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Lower temperature to 325 and cook for 45 minutes more.
Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.
Refrigerate.

NOTE:
The pie will taste salty straight from the oven.
Flavors need time to mellow.
Tastes best when cooled and refrigerated for 24 hours.