Step 1

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350℉. Prep and gather all ingredients according to specifications above. Make sure the puff pastry is thawed, but hold it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Put the ricotta in a strainer or fine mesh sieve propped over a bowl and let it drain out excess liquid for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature. (You can line it with cheesecloth if you have it.) Discard the liquid and transfer the strained ricotta to a large bowl and set aside. Beat 2 of the eggs. Make sure all excess liquid is squeezed out of the thawed spinach.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)

Step 2

Make the Spinach Ricotta Filling: Combine the spinach, ricotta and pecorino cheeses, green onions and spices in a large bowl and mix well.

Step 3

Then, fold in the 2 beaten eggs and stir until well-combined. Set this mixture aside.

Step 4

Next, take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator and place one sheet on a lightly floured surface. Dust a rolling pin lightly with flour. Then, roll the dough out gently as needed with rolling pin until it is large enough to cut a 9” diameter circle out of it. Then, turn the springform pan upside down and use it to trace a circle to be used for the top of the torta pasqualina. (See photos above.) Use shears or a butter knife to cut the circle out.

Step 5

Transfer this dough circle to a piece of parchment paper and place four slits in it with a knife (and any other design of your choice), as seen in the photo above. These slits will allow steam to be released from the pie during the baking process and will also be used to indicate where the whole eggs were placed.

Step 6

Next, grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with butter and set aside.

Step 7

Place the second sheet of puff pastry on the lightly floured surface and gently roll it out until it’s large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan.

Step 8

Carefully transfer the dough to the pan and press gently as needed so that it hugs all corners of the pan. Use extra/random pieces of dough to patch holes if needed. This is a rustic pie so there’s no need to be very precise. Let excess dough just hang over the sides at this point.

Step 9

Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.

Step 10

Then, fill the dough/pan with the reserved spinach ricotta mixture and spread it out evenly. Make sure the filling is spread evenly into the corners of the pan.

Step 11

Use the back of a spoon to make four deep indentations in the spinach mixture as shown in the photo above. Each cavity should be large enough to hold one of the eggs.

Step 12

Carefully crack 4 of the remaining eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl, taking care to not break the yolk. Cracking the eggs in a bowl first ensures that you do not put any broken eggs into the pie. If you do happen to break the yolk of one of the eggs, use it for another purpose and get a new egg for this pie.Place each whole egg into the cavity, one at a time, then sprinkle each egg lightly with salt and black pepper.

Step 13

Carefully place the reserved dough circle on top, making sure to line up each slit in the center of each whole egg. (See Notes.)

Step 14

Trim off excess dough with a knife or kitchen shears, then fold the dough sides over the top and press pastry edges to seal, as shown in the photo above.

Step 15

At this point, if you have not already done so, make a few slits into the top dough layer to let steam escape while baking. Take care not to puncture the eggs. (It’s best to do this before the top dough layer is placed on the pie.)

Step 16

Beat the last egg with 1 Tbsp water until frothy to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin even layer of this egg wash all over the surface of the pie/top dough layer. Be sure to get into all the nooks and crannies and be careful not to let egg wash pool on the surface or at the base of the pan. If this happens, use a paper towel to gently absorb the excess.NOTE: The entire egg wash will not be used.

Step 17

Place the pie on a rack in the lower third of a 350℉ preheated oven and set the timer for 50 minutes. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and puffed and the filling is firm. I do use a very fine metal skewer to check the doneness of the pie (same as testing a cake) and I recommend doing that if you’re unsure. A small toothpick will also work.(If the crust is getting too brown during the baking process, reduce the oven temperature to 325℉ and cook it a bit longer.)NOTE that the baking time is an approximation as all ovens vary. The pie took exactly 60 minutes in my electric oven, but may take less or more time in your oven.

Step 18

Remove the pie from the oven and cool it at room temperature for about 30 minutes or so before releasing it from the springform pan. Enjoy torta pasqualina at room temperature, chilled or warmed up–as you please! It is traditionally served on Easter morning or as an appetizer for Easter brunch. Buon Appetito!