Torta Pasqualina

Torta pasqualina finished dish

Torta Pasqualina or Easter Monday pie is a very popular dish to have today that has its origins in Liguria. Easter Monday is traditionally a day for picnics and this is often one of the things taken along. This is a slightly simplified version as it uses pre prepared puff pastry. It’s good to know that doctors no longer say eating cholesterol is bad for you as it includes at least 10 eggs. Serves at least 6.

• 500g puff pastry
• 500g swiss chard or spinach, stalks removed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 80g of parmesan or pecorino romano (or a mixture of both)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram or parsley
• 10  eggs
• 300g ricotta, passed through a sieve to remove lumps
• 1 tbsp of single cream
•  Olive oil

Torta pasqualina ingredients

Put the swiss chard, the onion and 2 tbsp of oil into a saucepan. Season with salt and people and cook over a medium heat until the chard is completely wilted. Allow to cool and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Torta pasqualina wilting chard

Chop finely and transfer to a bowl. Add an egg, 50g of cheese and the marjoram or parsley and mix well.

Torta pasqualina filling

In another bowl mix together the ricotta, the cream, 2 eggs and 30g of cheese.

Torta pasqualina assembling pie

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and use it to line an oiled cake tin. Make a layer with the chard. Cover with the ricotta. Crack 6 eggs, regularly spaced onto the surface.

Torta pasqualina ready for the oven

Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry and use it to close the pie. Trim off the excess pastry and fold over and crimp the edges to seal. Brush with olive oil and bake at 180 °c for 45 minutes.

Torta pasqualina after baking

Eggs mimosa

Eggs mimosa finished dish

Hard boiled eggs are of course an important symbol of Easter in Italy. They are often eaten as part of an Easter antipasto. This is one of the simplest, and in my opinion best recipes.

• 6 hardboiled eggs
• 6 anchovy fillets or 2 tablespoons anchovy paste
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• chopped parsley or chives
• pepper

Eggs mimosa ingredients

Halve the eggs and put the yolks in a bowl along with the anchovies and pepper to taste. Blend with a blender, adding the olive oil little by little, until you have a smooth paste. Fill the empty halves of the eggs with the mixture, sprinkle with parsley or chives and serve.

Eggs mimosa blending stuffing

Spinach frittata

Fritatta di spinaci. The original recipe called for 2kg of spinach. As this is about 2 medium sized shopping bags full, I decided to cheat a bit and use 1kg. To be honest, I didn’t fancy cleaning it all. The results were excellent however. Serves 4-6.

• 1 kilogram fresh spinach
• 6 medium eggs — beaten
• 1 handful parmesan cheese — grated
•    olive oil
•    salt and pepper

1. Wash the spinach and remove the stalks. Steam until wilted, squeeze out any excess liquid, and chop finely.
2. In a large bowl , mix together the eggs, spinach and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat plenty of oil in a frying pan until it is almost smoking. Pour in the egg mixture and shake the pan to even out the frittata. Cook until the top has started to set.
4. Turn the frittata by covering the pan with a large plate, turn it upside down so it falls onto the plate and slide it back into the pan with the uncooked side down.
5. Continue frying until the frittata is cooked through. Unlike an omelette, it should be quite firm and well set. You shouldn’t cook it for too long however as it will become dry.
6. Serve hot or cold.