How to Make a Pizza Rustica
Pizza Rustica is also commonly referred to as the peasant pizza as the ingredients are mostly limited to three including tomato sauce, cheese and one type of Italian sausage or vegetables.
Today’s Pizza rustica recipe goes out of the ordinary as we use several types of cheeses and add more depth to it with the use of more ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 8 ounces of sliced Italian sausage with casings removed
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 12 ounces of fresh spinach stemmed and freshly cut
- 15 ounces of whole milk ricotta
- 12 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup and 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
- 4 ounces of slices prosciutto coarsely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks beaten
- 1 homemade pizza dough
- 1 large beaten egg
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and position the rack at the bottom.
- Saute and the sausages in a heavy skillet until they acquired a nice brown color.
- Add the garlic to the sausages and continue sautéing until the garlic becomes fragrant. Then, set aside.
- In the same frying pan, wilt the spinach until its liquid content evaporates. Once cooked, remove remaining liquid by squeezing the cooked spinach.
- Make the cheese mixture by combining the beaten egg yolks, ricotta and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Add the sausages and spinach to the mixture.
- Put a thin layer of the pizza dough on a shallow pie pan. Trim the excess pieces of the dough if necessary.
- Fill the pie with ricotta mixture and top the mixture with another layer of pizza dough. Seal it by pinching the edges.
- Finish off the pie by brushing the top with beaten egg.
- Bake for at least an hour or until the crust is golden brown.
- Once cooked, let it stand for 15 minutes and top with the remaining Parmigiano before serving.