Gluten-free torta pasqualina

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Thanks to the gluten-free suet pastry used in this torta pasqualina, everyone at the dinner table can enjoy this Italian Easter pie. The filling is comprised of spinach, ricotta and spring greens, flavoured lightly with nutmeg and lemon zest. Eggs are cracked into the filling, and look fantastic when sliced – it's wise to create some kind of marker on the pastry so you know where to slice the pie for a clean cross-section of egg.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Gluten-free suet pastry

  • 250g of gluten-free self-raising flour
  • 125g of suet, vegetarian or traditional
  • 1 egg
  • 60ml of water
  • 60ml of milk, plus extra to glaze the pie
  • 1 pinch of salt

Filling

Equipment

  • Food processor

Method

1
Begin by making the pastry. Place the flour, suet and salt in a food processor and blend together into an even crumb. Place into a bowl
2
In a jug, beat the egg with the milk and water. Slowly add this to the flour mixture until it comes together to form a dough – you may not need all the liquid. Wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for 1 hour
3
To make the filling, wilt the spinach down in a hot pan, cooking out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a sieve and allow to cool
4
Blanch the shredded spring greens for 4 minutes, drain, then dry off in a hot pan
5
Once the spinach has cooled, squeeze out any excess water and roughly chop
6
In a large bowl, mix together the spinach, greens, ricotta and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper and add nutmeg to taste
7
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3.5
8
Roll out two-thirds of the pastry until 0.5cm thick and use it to line a greased pie tin, roughly 20cm in diameter. The pastry will be quite soft, so may need patching up a little
9
Add the pie filling. Make 4 deep holes in the mixture, and crack an egg into each hole
10
Roll out the remaining pastry on a flour-dusted sheet of greaseproof paper until 0.5cm thick, then carefully drape it over the pie. Trim the excess pastry from the edges and crimp to seal
11
Brush the surface of the pie with milk and bake for 1 hour. Remove and allow to cool a little before slicing and serving
First published in 2019

Pollyanna is a recipe developer who used to lead the team behind GBC Kitchen. She left Great British Chefs in 2022.

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