This is a family recipe from Puglia that I finally tracked down online that tastes just like my mom's! It is traditionally made at Easter, but we had it at Christmas too. It looks like a cheesecake, but serves a lot of hungry people as an appetizer or makes a great winter meal. It can be made ahead and frozen (which I'm doing today for my holiday party). Enjoy
Pizza Rustica
Dough
3 c. flour (plus up to ¼ c. more if needed)
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ c. olive oil
2 T. sugar
pinch of salt
Filling
3 lb. ricotta
9 eggs, beaten
½ lb. procsuitto (chopped)
½ lb. ham (chopped)
½ lb. salami or soprosatta (chopped)
1 ½ lb. grated mozzarella
6 oz. grated Pecorino Romano
½ t. pepper
1 lg. egg yolk
1t. water
Crust:
Combine flour, sugar, salt. Cream butter and blend with dry ingredients.
Stir in oil. Add 1/3-1/2 c. ICE WATER (1T. At a time ) until dough is consistency of pie crust. Knead, chill wrapped in plastic for 30 min. Roll half the dough into a circle and place inside a 10” springform pan leaving an inch of overhang. Chill shell and the other half of the dough.
Filling
In a LARGE bowl, combine eggs and ricotta. Stir in meats, cheeses and pepoper. Spoon into shell. Roll remaining dough to top and pinch edges. (I usually make a lattice top, or for Christmas, I cut out holly shapes and overlap them on top in a design) Brush top with egg wash. Bake at 350 1hr. 15 min-1hr 30 min. May be served warm or at room temp.
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