serves
8
prep
35 minutes
cook
1:15 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
35
minutes
cooking
1:15
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g hot Italian pork sausages, casings removed
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large bunch (600–700g) silverbeet or spinach, stalks and leaves finely chopped (or 315 g chopped frozen spinach, thawed and excess moisture squeezed out)
- 200 g mozzarella, shredded
- 25 g (⅓ cup) freshly grated parmesan or pecorino, plus 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling
- 1 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 120 g thinly sliced prosciutto, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs, whisked
- freshly ground black pepper
- 300 g low-fat ricotta
- 2½ tbsp dry breadcrumbs
Pastry
- 375 g strong (00) flour
- 190 g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 1½ tbsp caster sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 60 ml (¼ cup) iced water
Egg wash
- 1 egg, whisked
Resting time 50 minutes
Chilling time 20 minutes
Instructions
To make the pastry, place the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until a sandy mixture has formed. Add the eggs and water and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together; it will still be a bit crumbly. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured workbench and squeeze to bind it together, then shape to form a fat sausage. Divide the dough into 2 portions, 1 about one-third of the dough and the other should be about two-thirds of the dough. Shape each portion into a disc, then wrap both discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over low heat, then add the sausage meat and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until the fat has rendered from the meat. Increase the heat to medium and cook for another 2 minutes or until the meat is lightly browned. Transfer the meat mixture to a plate and set aside to cool completely.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the silverbeet or spinach and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until it has wilted and the moisture has evaporated. Transfer to a colander and set aside to drain and cool completely. Squeeze out any excess moisture and place in a large bowl.
Add the mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, prosciutto, sausage, egg, pepper and crumbled ricotta to the bowl of silverbeet or spinach. Mix gently to combine.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
Roll each pastry disc out on a lightly floured workbench to form a 3 mm-thick round. Use the larger disc to line the base and side of a 24 cm springform cake tin, leaving 2 cm overhanging at the top. Sprinkle the base of the pastry with the breadcrumbs to soak up any excess moisture from the filling, then add the filling. Carefully place the smaller dough round on top, then fold the edges over to seal the pie. Brush the top well with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the extra parmesan. Using a paring knife, cut a few holes into the pastry lid to allow the steam to escape during baking.
Bake the pie for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C and bake for a further 45 minutes or until golden on top. Leave to rest in the tin for 30 minutes before serving.
Photography, styling and food preparation by china squirrel.
Poh & Co. 2 Thursdays at 8.30pm on SBS.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
