Italian Rustic Fish Pie Recipe - Cooking Index
Italian Rustic Fish Pie Recipe - Cooking Index
This is a variation on the torta rustica recipes that are common throughout Italy. Although they may have different fillings and crusts, all are generally thick pies layering cheeses and vegetables, fully enclosed in a rich pastry. Here we add some fish to this hearty country pie. If you have a springform pan, this is the time to use it. If you don't, you can use another dish at least 4 inches deep, but serving the pie will be more difficult.
Type: Fish| 1 lb | 454g / 16oz | Large carrots |
| 2 | Chopped spinach - (10 oz ea) - thawed | |
| 4 cups | 584g / 20oz | Ricotta cheese |
| 2 | Eggs | |
| 1/3 cup | 20g / 0.7oz | Minced green onion |
| Salt - to taste | ||
| Freshly-ground black pepper - to taste | ||
| 1 lb | 454g / 16oz | Cooked fish (salmon, snapper, sea bass |
| And/or cod) - flaked, skin and | ||
| Bones removed | ||
| Savory Pie Dough | ||
| 3 cups | 187g / 6.6oz | All-purpose flour |
| 2/3 cup | 131g / 4.6oz | Butter or shortening |
| 1 teaspoon | 5ml | Salt |
| 1/2 cup | 118ml | Water - more if needed |
To make the pie dough, put the flour, butter and salt in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture has a sandy consistency. Add the water and continue pulsing the food processor until the dough forms a ball, adding more water by the teaspoon as necessary.
Alternatively, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, add the salt and sprinkle with water, stirring in just enough to form a ball.
When the dough has formed a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Cut the carrots lengthwise in quarters, then across into about 1/4-inch dice. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the carrots and cook until just crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Squeeze the spinach in your hands in batches to remove as much excess water as possible.
Put the ricotta cheese in a large bowl and stir to soften slightly. Add the eggs, green onions, salt and pepper and stir until evenly mixed and fluffy.
Lightly oil a 10-inch springform pan or a 2-quart baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Unwrap the chilled dough and set it on a lightly floured work surface; cut off about one third of the dough and set aside. Roll out the dough to a roughly 18-inch circle.
Transfer the dough to the springform pan, pressing the dough well into the corners, with the extra hanging over the edges, trimming them to about 1 inch.
Scatter the well-dried spinach evenly over the bottom of the dough. Top with half of the ricotta mixture, spreading evenly. Scatter the fish over the ricotta and top with the remaining ricotta, spreading evenly. Scatter the carrots over the ricotta, pressing down gently to help eliminate pockets.
Roll out the remaining dough to a circle just large enough to cover the filling, trimming the dough if necessary. Lay the circle over the filling and lightly brush the top and press to seal. (If you like, you can use pieces of excess dough to decorate the top.)
Bake the pie in the preheated oven until the dough is well browned, about 1 hour. Let sit for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan. If using another type of pan, carefully invert onto a cake rack, set a serving plate upside down on the upturned pie, and invert once again so it sits upright on the serving plate.
This recipe yields 8 servings.
Source:
Simply Seafood (recipe archive) at http://www.simplyseafood.com
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