torta pasqualina
May 1, 2014 § 74 Comments
A portion of my cooking inspiration comes from a handful of cookbooks that are sitting on our bookshelf, as well as two magazine subscriptions I receive every month. However. nearly all of my inspiration comes from all the wonderful food blogs I love to read. I finally got a handle on my bookmark bar the other day where hundreds of recipes are parked and waiting for my attention. It is like having a hundred cookbooks at my fingertips. This dreamy pie recipe was at the top of my list to prepare.
A week or so ago while visiting Lindy’s Love in the Kitchen the only thing keeping me from standing up, walking to the kitchen and getting started on this pie was the fact I did not have ricotta cheese. I love that sense of urgency to get up, run out to the market, gather the ingredients and prepare a meal inspired by seeing a beautifully presented post. I like to call this sense of urgency pure inspiration. And this was one of those posts. Without a doubt this recipe brought Love in the Kitchen.
Knowing this torta was going to be fabulous I did not alter or adapt the recipe in any way. Thank you Lindy. We loved your torta pasqualina.
Recipe from Love in the Kitchen.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
- 1 egg, uncooked and lightly beaten
- One large tub – 312 grams or 11 oz fresh (preferably organic) spinach, washed, dried and trimmed
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 400 grams (just less than 1 lb) of ricotta cheese
- 1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
- ⅓ cup parmesan, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 397 grams (or closest equivalent including 1lb) ready-made puff pastry
M e t h o d
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Lightly grease a deep dish pie plate.
In a large fry pan, cook the onion in the olive oil until the onion is lightly browned. Add the spinach and cook over medium-low heat 3-4 minutes or until the spinach is just wilted. Remove from the heat and add the ricotta, cheddar, parmesan, half of the beaten egg (reserve remainder for brushing the pastry) and seasonings.
Roll out half the puff pastry to about .5cm or ¼ inch thickness and line the pie dish. Fill with half the spinach mixture. Add the hard-boiled eggs, yolks down, evenly spaced. Top with remaining spinach mixture.
Roll out remaining pastry and top the pie, taking care to seal the edges of the pie.
Using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the pie with the remaining half beaten egg. Make several small incisions in the top of the pie to allow steam to vent.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least ten minutes before slicing and serving. Also good served at room temperature.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
A great italian dish! I like your version.
I noticed there are several versions of this torta. I really liked Lindy’s recipe and method the best. So fantastic.
That is super! I’ve got to make this!
I hope you do. :)
Fabulous!! I am making this- it looks soooo delicious :)
It really is a perfect pie. I love eggs so much and at first it seemed odd to use already cooked eggs inside. I saw a few recipes that called for the egg to be cracked into the filling and allowed to cook as the pie cooked. I was really happy making it as Lindy did. Fabulous results.
I love how it looks… but I am imagining how wonderful it tasted! The hard-cooked eggs add to the presentation. Great! I added it onto my (LONG!) “to-make” list!
Wow! What a great looking dish.
Hi there! Thanks. Enjoy this weather…looks like we headed back into rain this weekend. :(
A work of art! Looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you! I love making pies. And I can’t stop…especially savory pies. There is so much you can put into them and they are always so delicious. Sweet or savory!
Despite I’m italian I’ve never make the torta pasqualina, never. I’ve eaten it a lot of times, but I’ve never tried to make it by myself. But is something that in Italy we love a lot. Your version with the eggs looks really yummy! I bet it didn’t last long enough… am I wrong? beautiful photos!
You are not wrong by saying it didn’t last long. I am very surprised you have not made this pie. And I am curious what versions you are used to having. I saw recipes with the egg being cracked into the filling and allowed to cook while the pie is cooking. I’m curious if the result is different. Thank you regarding the photos! Hope you make a torta pasqualina soon.
Love how the halved eggs create such a great texture underneath the crust! What a great recipe.
Yes! I like how it lifted the crust up and and gave it such a unique look. Make one if you get a chance. It is very pleasing!
I made two of Lindy’s torta for Easter…there wasn’t a crumb left! Like you, because it was Lindy, there was no doubt in my mind that it was going to be absolutely fabulous… It was so delicious…everyone loved it! I’m so glad you tried it Seana.. it’s a wonderful recipe! <3
Hi Prudy! And I’m glad you tried it too! See…we do think alike don’t we. Even receiving inspiration from the same posts. :) Lindy’s recipes and post’s are very inspiring aren’t they. Both in recipe and narrative. Hope it’s warming up in your neck of the woods. We are at 80 degrees today. I feel like I took a plane to California. However, it’s headed back down in the 60’s this weekend…and rain. Have a wonderful weekend and can’t wait to see what you post next!
Of course we think alike and draw our Inspiration from beautiful people such as Lindy… We are sisters!!
80 degrees… Beautiful! Enjoy that lovely weather ! <3 xx
Thank you Seana – am so touched you made this and loved it. And Prudy above too! Who knew blogging would enable us to find like-minded friends across the continent and throughout the world. Really such a beautiful connection. Oh yes – and the pie is gorgeous too – always love your posts and your wonderful photographs. Thank you for the shout-out.
Lindy xo
Your pie was so beautiful I just had to take pictures of it. Then it tasted so good I just had to tell everyone I know about it. I really appreciate the connections I have made across the world with blogging. My cooking has changed so much since I started this one year ago. It is like reading a new cookbook everyday, yet even better because you can actually talk with the author. It really is beautiful. Thank you for your inspiration. I need to make your no bake granola bars again!
I agree completely! I feel that the French have it right. Food and the conversation about matters deeply. And I also love and value these connections.
Great looking recipe :-)
Thank you! :)
Just added ricotta and spinach to the list! I have some fresh spring onions so may substitute some of the regular onion for spring onion. This torta is gorgeous. I get inspiration from your site all the one. In fact, I am making the spring peas and mint pasta tonight for dinner! Rhubard crumble in two days! :) Will let you know how it all goes!
Oh that’s great Ngan! I think fresh spring onions will be even better. Your comment is very sweet. I hope the pasta turns out tonight. And that crumble still makes me nervous…the sourness of the lemons! Come to think of it I would love a bowl of that pasta tonight too. It’s 3pm and I don’t know what I’m making yet. :)
That crust is absolutely gorgeous! And what a torta!
LIdia! Hi! Where have you been? :) Nice to hear from you. Thank you.
Very nice torta! I especially like that golden flaky crust :) Good work!
Thanks B! I appreciate your comments. One of these days I would love to try that lentil pie you made! Every now and then I think about it. Brilliant. Award winning, right?!
yep :) I can’t wait for someone to try it…would like feedback!!!
It looks fab! I really must start working through all of my bookmarks!!
Bookmarks are out of control aren’t they? I finally starting printing recipes. Can’t wait to see what kind of mess I can make with that pile! How’s the pup? I have a sweet black dog too. :)
Ah, what type is yours? Bob is really good, he keeps growing though!!! He’s lovely, such a lovely boy xx
Yes, I keep thinking I mustn’t bookmark any more but then a lovely recipe pops up….!
Such a unique a beautiful dish. I love the fun egg surprise and flavorful cheese.
Thank you! :)
Gorgeous, gorgeous. I too really want to make this dish. I love everything about it, I have seen 3 different posts with this recipe and each one is amazing. Your torta is wonderful.
Hope you get a chance to make it Suzanne. All credit goes to Lindy! It was so delicious and really quite perfect. Wondering if all three posts had a different cooking version. I can certainly vouch for this version…it is spot on. :)
Truly looks amazing! Love the look of this!!!
Thank you. Ahhh, just love savory pie! :)
What a fantstic way to use up any lingering Easter eggs! Incidentally, Pasqualina has moved up to my list of possible girl baby names (no, not pregnant … just prepared!)
Great idea to use the Easter eggs that just aren’t disappearing. I love deviled eggs, but it is nice to just make a pie out of them. And I absolutely love Pasqualina as a girl name! Beautiful. Fingers crossed!
this looks incredible – packed with some of my absolute favorite things, between flaky layers of pastry…what’s not to like?! thanks for sharing :)
And thank you for your thoughtful comment. You are right though, ricotta, spinach, cheese and eggs…favorite things! I particularly like the eggs hard boiled like this. I have had countless pies with the filling more like a quiche, this was a really nice change. :)
This is beautiful. I saw Lindy’s torta and loved that as well. You did such a beautiful job. I love the way the eggs make the dish.
I got so excited when I saw Lindy’s post because I love savory pies and this one is so unique. Most savory pies I have made have beaten eggs in the filling, so this was a nice fresh change. Plus, I just really like how it looks. Because we know it must look good to taste good. :)
This is so awesome Cottage! The pie or torta looks delicate and scrumptious!
Thank you. Delicate and scrumptious….it was. :)
Very nice indeed my friend. That thing would be gone in seconds on my dinner table!!
:) Oh! I made That Salad. The crunchy black rice was incredible. Please let Jennee know. Off the charts!!
Magic! I’ll let her know :)
This looks really interesting! What a beautiful pie, the bumps made by the eggs made me wonder what was inside – mystery solved. Keeping this in mind for the weekend, thank you for the recipe!
I loved the bumps. Actually I messed up. Lindy’s pie did not have bumps because she put another layer of the filling on top of the eggs, I accidentally put all the filling on the bottom. Still wonderfully delicious! Bumpy pie! :)
Yes, bumpy pie for hump(y) day, haha!
hahahaha. That’s funny.
Holy cow lady! This looks amazing…. I cant wait to try it, I love the idea of the whole eggs! Beautiful photos, as usual.
I am thinking I will make this for a Mother’s Day brunch I am going to. What a perfect brunch dish!
I think it will be a perfect pie for mother’s day brunch. Great idea. It is even good at room temperature. Let me know how you like it…and let Lindy know too! She’s the originator. :)
I certainly will!
wow! This looks wonderful! I will bookmark it too!
Hahaha! See? You most likely have a lengthy bookmark bar too.
It gets longer each week! I need to quit my day job, just so i can cook!! :D
wowza–fantastic! Love how hard-cooked eggs and pot-pies–both retro in their own way–join up in your dish.
You have such a way with words. I always love your comments.
lol, Seana. We had company over the night I read this post and I was a few cocktails over my limit. When you mentioned my “way with words,” I had to check back to see what I said, hoping I hadn’t said something stupid. Looks like I did ok, fortunately. Even stone cold sober, I think this is a cool dish :-)
Oh this is wonderful, your crust is absolutely gorgeous and the inside is beautiful with the hard boiled eggs.
Bookmarked, Seana. I cannot wait to try this!!
This looks fabulous Seana… love how it looks when you cut into it!
Great looking tart! It looks so yummy, I also add this to my long list of things I love to cook sometime. :)
It looks absolutely delicious, Seana :)
Just made this and although mine wasn’t nearly as neat and pretty as yours, it was delicious. Thank you so much for sharing! Partner (Speaker to Pies) has added this to the “definitely would eat this again” list, so praise indeed! Will post up my photos with a link back to you tomorrow. You are my weekend cooking inspiration :-)
So so pretty! This reminds me of our years in Spain and some bakeries would bake eggs into the loaves of bread– It’s a lovely dish Seana!
[…] So there was a little initial scepticism when I started raving enthusiastically about a recipe that I’d seen at Cottage Grove House for a spinach and egg pie called torta pasqualina. […]
This was not a part of my family’s cooking tradition but I am familiar with it. Your torta looks authentic, right down to the serving suggestion that it can be served at room temperature. I bet it was delicious!
[…] always tempts me with her unique recipes. I attempted her torta Pasqualina a couple of months back. It was great fun to make, but I was a bit heavy-handed with the cheeses, […]