Torta Pasqualina Recipe: how to make Italian Easter pie

Torta Pasqualina recipe: step by step recipe to make this traditional Italian Easter pie with spinach, ricotta and eggs.

Torta Pasqualina is a delicious tart typical of the Easter season in Italy.

It is made with puff pastry, ricotta, spinach and eggs and despite the name ‘cake’ it is not sweet but savory: ‘torta’ in Italian allows for this use.

Other examples are torta al testo, a type of flatbread from Umbria, and torta rustica= savory pie).

In English, you find it referred to as Italian Easter Tart or Italian Easter Pie. In Italian, you find it called Torta Pasqualina, Torta Rustica ricotta e spinaci, Rustico ricotta e spinaci or torta salata con ricotta e spinaci.

This is how you make ‘Torta Pasqualina’. The original recipe is from Liguria, the region of Genoa and Cinque Terre but the pie is now a staple in Italian kitchens all around Italy.

Find more traditional Easter foods from Italy here!

What is Torta Pasqualina ingredients and presentation

Torta Pasqualina is a savory Italian tart made with puff pastry, ricotta and spinach filling, eggs and spices.

It is a dish usually prepared for Easter and its peculiarity is to have inside whole eggs, that appear as you slice your pie and add an extra layer of taste and texture.

Eggs are typical of Easter and are used in Italian cuisine as a symbol of rebirth, which the Christian faith celebrates in this season.

Ingredients to make Torta Pasqualina are:

• 1bag of spinach
• 1 tub ricotta (250gr / 1 US Cup)
• 1 clove of garlic, halved
• Half an onion
• 4 eggs
• Marjoram and salt, to taste
• Two sheets of puff pastry (store-bought is ok)
• Parmesan
• Olive oil

To make this recipe you will need: pan / bowl / food processor / round oven tray (9inch diameter) / spoon / wooden spoon

Before we look at the step-by-step recipe below, pin this for future reference!

How to make Torta Pasqualina

Wash your spinach really well, then steam them until cooked, then drain them well and set aside.

Take a skillet and use it to heat a teaspoon of olive oil with add a clove of garlic sliced in half and your onion, finely chopped.

Let it cook so the garlic delicately infuse the oil and the onion turns translucent, then remove the garlic and add the spinach to the pan.

Cook for a minute to allow the spinach to soak up all the flavors (make sure they don’t turn crispy), then quickly blitz them in a food processor to turn them into a smooth paste.

In a large bowl, pour your ricotta, then add the spinach, parmesan, salt and marjoram, then mix really well: taste to adjust seasoning, add one egg and mix again, until you get a smooth cream.

Now take an oven tray, line it with baking paper and and lay down your puff pastry sheet.

Pour the spinach and ricotta mixture onto the sheet and use a spoon to spread it flat and even.

Then, use the same spoon to create small depressions in the spinach cream: these will be the areas for your eggs!

Take you eggs and delicately open each of them to settle into the space you made for them, then add the second sheet of puff pastry and close your pie.

Use a fork to make small holes in the top layer of the pastry sheet, then put in the oven at 200C for about 25 mins. Serve hot or cold.

Torta Pasqualina variations

If you don’t like garlic or marjoram, you can make small tweaks to this recipe and still obtain a wonderful pie.

The most successful alternatives are:

• Remove the garlic entirely
• Substitute the onion with a spring onion
• Use grated nutmeg instead of marjoram
• Add pine nuts (plain or roasted) to add an extra nutty flavor and bite

All these variations are commonly used in Italian households and work really well.

How to serve Italian Torta Psqualina

Torta Pasqualina can be served as a side dish, an informal main and can easily be packed as picnic food or meal for a day on the beach or in the country!

I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy recipe for torta pasqualina and it inspired you to make this Italian Easter pie soon. Buona Pasqua (that’s Happy Easter in Italian)!