Pizza Rustica

pizza rusticaPizza Rustica
Ingredients:
For the crust:
4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks ice-cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

For the filling:
1/4 pound prosciutto
1/4 pound Genoa salami
1/4 pound hot sopressata salami
1/4 pound sweet sopressata salami
1/4 pound Sicilian salami
1/4 pound dried Italian sausage
1/4 pound scamorza
1/4 pound fresh mozzarella
1/4 pound smoked mozzarella
1/4 pound Fontina cheese
1/4 pound Asiago
1/2 pound basket cheese, well drained
3 cups whole-milk ricotta, well drained
6 eggs
Freshly ground pepper to taste

For the glaze:
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

To prepare the crust:
1. Combine flour and salt; place in food processor, or electric mixer at low speed; work butter into flour mixture to form coarse crumbs.

2. Gradually add enough ice water to form dough that just sticks together.

3. Wrap dough in waxed paper; refrigerate while preparing filling.

To make the Pizza Rustica:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat together ricotta, eggs, and black pepper; set aside.

3. Dice meats and cheeses into 1/2-inch cubes; combine diced ingredients in another large bowl.

4. Divide dough in two, with one piece slightly larger than the other.

5. On a lightly floured board, roll out larger piece, and fit it into an (approximately) 12-inch-by-16 –inch nonreactive shallow casserole; leave an overhang of 1 inch.

6. Roll second piece of dough to fit over top; set aside.

7. Pour ricotta-egg mixture over meats and cheeses; stir well; moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water; add the meat and cheese filling.

8. Add top crust; crimp edges of crust together; flute edges; brush top crust with egg glaze; cut a circle in top crust to allow steam to escape.

9. Place casserole on baking sheet; bake 90 to 115 minutes or until the tip of a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

10. Cool on wire rack.

11. Allow to come to room temperature before slicing; serve at room temperature; refrigerate leftovers.

Serves 12 as a main course; serves 24 as an appetizer

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