RecipeTin’s mini Italian pies are the impressive but simple vegie dish your Easter feast needs

Name: RecipeTin’s mini Italian pies are the impressive but simple vegie dish your Easter feast needs
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 5 soft-boiled eggs, refrigerated at least 3 hours or overnight (see note); 3 x 25cm square frozen butter puff pastry sheets (see note); 1 raw egg, yolk separated from white; 5 tbsp finely grated parmesan

RecipeTin Eats

April 3, 2023

Cut open these spinach and ricotta pies to reveal an egg-cellent surprise.Nagi Maehashi

Time:1-2 hoursMakes:5

Torta pasqualina is an Italian Easter pie with whole eggs buried inside spinach and ricotta. Traditionally served as a striking centrepiece and cut into slices like cake, it’s one for confident cooks to make on leisurely Sundays.

But here’s an easy way to make torta pasqualina in mini form, using frozen puff pastry. Not only is it much faster to make, there’s an excellent ratio of puff pastry to filling, and you get a whole pie to yourself. (Who thinks like that at Easter when it’s all about sharing and caring? I do! Take all my Easter eggs. Just don’t touch my torta pasqualina!)

One pie makes a substantial meal, with all the essential food groups – starch, vegetable, protein and cheese – included.

The SOS checklist

Feeds 4 for under $20 ✔

Fewer than 12 ingredients ✔

Ingredients

5 soft-boiled eggs, refrigerated at least 3 hours or overnight (see note)
3 x 25cm square frozen butter puff pastry sheets (see note)
1 raw egg, yolk separated from white
5 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Spinach ricotta filling

250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed (90g once squeezed dry)
250g ricotta (see note)
50g (½ cup) finely shredded parmesan
75g (¾ cup tightly packed) shredded mozzarella
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tsp cooking salt
½ tsp black pepper

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Prepare a baking tray by covering with baking paper.
Step 2
Squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach. I use a tea towel. Nobody likes a soggy pastry base.
Step 3
Place the spinach and remaining filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well, then divide the filling into five equal portions. With wet hands, form each portion of filling into a ball then flatten into a 10cm patty. Place a boiled egg in the centre of the filling and gently mould it around the egg to enclose. Repeat with remaining filling and boiled eggs.
Step 4
Partially thaw the pastry sheets then cut into five 12.5cm x 22cm rectangles. Place a portion of filling at the end of one strip and roll to enclose. Brush the short edge with whisked egg white then finish with the seam underneath. Press the sides closed, sealing with egg white. Place on the baking tray then repeat to make the remaining pies.
Step 5
Brush all over with whisked egg yolk. Cut 2 x 1.5cm incisions in the top of the pastry and sprinkle the top and sides with parmesan. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the tray at the 20-minute mark, until golden all over. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving. Cutting open to reveal the egg inside is the best part!

Notes

Soft-boiled eggs – Slide room-temperature eggs into a saucepan of boiling water and set a timer for 8 minutes. Remove eggs from the pan and plunge into cold water for 10 minutes then peel the shells underwater, starting from the base. Refrigerating the eggs so the yolks are chilled all the way through ensures the yolks don’t overcook inside the pies.
Puff pastry – frozen puff pastry sheets come in 25cm squares. Cut each square in half then trim the end so it’s 22cm long. You only need five pieces so return the sixth piece to the freezer for another use.
Ricotta – Not all ricotta is created equal! Ricotta sold in vacuum-packed baskets or cut from a larger round at the deli counter is generally better quality than ricotta sold in plastic tubs (which tends to be powdery). Also, do not buy creamy or spreadable ricotta, which is too wet.