A show-stopping centrepiece for your Easter feast this year, packed with flavour using our pork and fennel sausages, salami, cheese and spinach. Easter Pie is traditionally made on Good Friday to celebrate the end of Lent and is usually eaten at room temperature but straight from the oven is delicious too! We’ve made a buttery pastry from scratch, but feel free to substitute it with store-bought shortcrust pastry to reduce the preparation time. To successfully serve this pie, it’ll be best to allow it to cool before cutting.
Serves 8-10 | ~ 2 hours
Ingredients
Pastry
3 ½ C plain flour
250g cold salted butter
2 eggs
Filling
500g pork and fennel sausages
500g ricotta
4 eggs, separated
100g mozzarella, grated
200g provolone cheese, cubes
30g parmesan, grated
225g salami, cut into cubes
250g frozen spinach, thawed
Method
To make the pastry, place flour and butter into the food processor and process until the consistency is like a rough sand texture.
Add in the eggs and pulse to combine.
Gather the pastry together and mould into a disc. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest, covered.
To make the filling, squeeze the sausage filling into the pan and discard the casing. Cook on medium heat until nicely caramelised and broken down. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl combine the ricotta, 3 eggs, mozzarella, provolone and parmesan together.
Next add in the spinach, cooked sausage and salami and season with pepper. Mix gently until combined.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Remove the pastry out of the fridge and allow it to warm until it’s soft enough to roll out.
Line a 20cm diameter springform pan with baking paper.
Reserve ⅓ of the pastry for the lid, and shape the remainder into a disc. Begin rolling out until you have enough to fill the base and sides with a cm or two overhang.
Carefully place the pastry into the pan and gently press into the edge.
Fill the pastry with the filling and press into the edges gently.
Roll out the remaining ⅓ of the pastry until it’s large enough to cover the top with 1cm overhang.
Whisk the remaining egg and brush the edge of the sides with egg wash.
Carefully place the lid on top of the pie and using your fingers, press the lid to the sides to join. If you wish, you can fold the edges to create a crimped edge.
Brush the top with the remaining egg wash and using a knife, create a few slits in the pastry to allow for steam to escape.
Place pie in the preheated oven for 1.5 hours. Check the colour of the top and place foil on top if it’s darkening too much.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack and leave in the pan for an hour or two. The cooler the pie is, the easier it is to slice. Placing it in the refrigerator will allow it to firm up nicely and it will keep for two to three days.
