Monday, February 8, 2016

Alpha Bakers -- Pizza Rustica



"But it's not a pizza!"

Wise words from a friend, as she watched me roll out a rich tart dough with thyme. In fact, she was so concerned that she flipped back through the book to check the picture.

"Nope, definitely not a pizza. That's a quiche."

While its pizza status might be debate-able (this delicacy is also known as a 'ham pie,' I'm told), the tart's appeal isn't up for debate, as long as you are craving a solid rich hit of cheese, sausage, and flaky crust. 

What this pie (pizza) is, is sturdy. Baked in a 9"x2" cake tin, a firm crust surrounds a rich filling of sopressata layered with mozzarella and a ricotta/egg custard. I had slightly less mozzarella than needed so I slipped in a little gruyere and goat boucheron. Whenever I have a party I stash a bunch of leftover cheese bits in the freezer for just this sort of occasion, and I'm working very hard on bringing the freezer back down to a manageable capacity right now, so that worked out well.

I served the pie in conjunction with some buckwheat waffles (yeast-raised, Marion Cunningham-style) and blackberry jam, so it never had a chance with me, but the others who ate it were big fans, and it was so easy to make, transport, and cut, that I will definitely be making versions of it again. Hearty and sturdy.







6 comments:

Vicki said...

It really turned out pretty! Good idea to freeze bits of cheese. Never thought of that before. Just finished making Rose's Melting Pot stacked French Toast so now onto this.

Unknown said...

Well .. we can call it deep dish pizza.. but I'm with your friend, it's a quiche in my book (don't tell Rose!).

Unknown said...

Looks scrumptious!

Unknown said...

Looks scrumptious!

Unknown said...

Whatever it is, it looks delicious.

orins goodies said...

its a pizza rustica :-) quiet funny. nut it turned out looking great!