Pizza Rustica

Courtesy of Joe Leone

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 oz. Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 8 ounces sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 16 ounces Basket cheese, ¼” cubed
• 1 lb. whole milk ricotta
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
• 4 ounces prosciutto, ¼” dice
• 4 ounces salami, ¼” dice
• 4 ounces hot or sweet sopressata ¼” dice
• 2 ounces pepperoni ¼” dice
• 4 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
• ¼ cup sparkling water
• Pastry Dough, recipe follows
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• To taste Sea salt
• To taste Black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and position the rack on the bottom of the oven

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the sausages and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly colored about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

Into a large bowl, whisk egg yokes lightly. Stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, basket cheese and 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Add the salami, pepperoni, sopressata, sausage, parsley, prosciutto and sparkling water to the mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 18-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch cake pan or spring form pan. Trim the dough overhang to 1 inch. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dough-lined pan. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges of the dough together to seal and then crimp the dough edges to be decorative. Brush the 1 large beaten egg over the entire pastry top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the top. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour.

Cool for 30 minutes. Release the pan sides and transfer the pizza to a platter. Cut into wedges and serve. Can be eaten warm, room temperature or my personal favorite cold! Enjoy!

(Pizza Rustic cont.)

Pastry Dough:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 large eggs, whisked

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons ice water

1/4 cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

In a food processor blend the flour, the butter, the shortening and salt until the mixture becomes a coarse mixture. Add in the eggs one at a time. While the machine is running, add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms. Using your hands gather the dough into a ball. Using a scale divide the dough into 2 pieces, with 1 piece twice as large as the second piece. Flatten the dough pieces into disks shapes. Wrap the dough individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes.