Pizza Chiena (Easter Pie)
In their cookbook Italian American, chefs Angie Rito & Scott Tacinelli of Don Angie in New York City share this recipe for Pizza Chiena, a savory, meaty Italian pie served on Easter. The recipe comes from Tacinelli's grandmother, and features a duo of sausage in the filling — sweet and spicy Italian — as well as ham steak, cooked eggs, mozzarella cheese, and sharp provolone, all mixed together with more egg (raw this time), parsley, salt, and pepper. The filling is swathed in a homemade dough made with reserved cooking liquid and fat from the meat, and as it bakes, that dough turns crisp and golden brown. As the book notes, Pizza Chiena recipes can vary depending on the household (for example, using a different combination of meats like prosciutto, salami, and sausage) and the name of the dish itself varies, too — you might also find it called Pizza Rustica, or Pizza Gain. But the egg, meat, and cheese formula is a constant for Easter Pie. If you'd like, you can break up the preparation of this recipe into two days. Knock out steps like boiling the meat and grating the cheese on day one and then make the crust, assemble, and bake day-of.
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Recipe Summary
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Reprinted with permission from Italian American. Copyright © 2021 by Angie Rito & Scott Tacinelli with Jamie Feldmar. Photography © 2021 Copyright by Christopher Testani. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.