Ligurian torta with greens and three-cheeses

Name: Ligurian torta with greens and three-cheeses
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 280g plain flour; ½ tsp salt; ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Danielle Alvarez

October 6, 2023

Time:2 hours +Serves:6-8

Liguria is a coastal region of north-west Italy, close to Nice and Cannes, and known for the delicacy of its olive oil; it’s used in place of butter in this classic torta pastry which, ideally, you’d make a day ahead of needing it.

Packed full of greens and cheeses, such as ricotta, parmigiano reggiano and stracchino (also called crescenza), this pie is also very typical of Liguria, where it’s made in the autumn when the cow’s milk is rich and slightly acidic.

If you can’t find stracchino, just skip it, but it’ll be so worth the effort if you can; look for it in Italian specialty grocery stores.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

280g plain flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

FOR THE FILLING

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 bunches English spinach, leaves picked and washed well
1 bunch silverbeet, leaves stripped from the stems and chopped
300g ricotta
3 eggs
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup milk
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp dried oregano
salt and black pepper
100g stracchino cheese

Method

Step 1
First make your dough by combining the flour and salt in a bowl. Pour in the olive oil and 160ml water and use your hands to combine and knead together for a couple of minutes until everything just sticks together and there are no dry, shaggy bits. Take the dough ball and press into a disc. Wrap in cling film or a beeswax wrapper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight).
Step 2
To make the filling, heat a very large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, the diced onion and a pinch of salt and saute for about 3 minutes until softened. Add as much spinach and silverbeet as will fit in the pan without spilling over. When the greens start to wilt, more space will become available and you can add what remains. Cook until all the greens are soft and wilted and then tip everything out onto a baking tray.
Step 3
While the greens are cooling, combine the remaining filling ingredients, except the stracchino, in a large mixing bowl and mix using a spoon until combined. Season with a couple of good pinches of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Step 4
When the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible and then chop finely and add to the filling. Mix to combine.
Step 5
Preheat your oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Step 6
Use a round deep pizza tin or fluted tart tin between 28cm and 30cm in diameter. Drizzle the pan with olive oil and brush it in to properly grease it. Flour your bench and roll out the pastry so it’s about 10-12cm wider than the baking dish. Place the dough inside the baking dish, allowing the excess to hang over the edges. Scoop all of the filling onto the dough and spread to the edge of the dish.
Step 7
Break apart the stracchino and dot all of it on and around the top of the filling. Pull and flip the overhanging edges over the filling. They won’t reach the centre, but that’s what you want: the middle should be exposed. Brush the crust with extra olive oil.
Step 8
Bake for 1 hour until the crust is golden-brown. Bake for a further 5-10 minutes if needed.
Step 9
Remove the tin from the oven and immediately slide the tart from the tin onto a cooling rack so the bottom stays crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.