Every year Julia Busuttil Nishimura makes this Ligurian Easter pie without fail. Nourishing, delicious and fun to make, we are grateful Julia has shared her secret family recipe with us! The dough is rolled out until transparent and then layered to create a unique flaky pastry which is so crunchy and golden and the perfect envelope for the greens and eggs.
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease a 23 cm loose-bottomed or springform round tin with olive oil.
2. Combine the flour and Maldon Sea Salt in a large bowl. Pour in the olive oil and water and mix with your hands until the mixture forms a shaggy ball. Tip onto a lightly floured work bench and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth. Divide into four balls and cover with a clean tea towel.
3. For the filling, blanch the silverbeet and spinach, refresh in cold water then squeeze out the excess moisture. Blitz to a puree in a food processor and place in a bowl with the ricotta, eggs, marjoram and Parmigiano Reggiano. Mix to combine and season to taste.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one of the balls of dough to a very thin circle, as thin as you can roll it, stretching with your hands to help it along. Drape the pastry into the prepared tin and brush with olive oil. Roll out another ball of dough, repeating the draping and brushing. There should be about 4 cm of dough overhanging the tin.
5. Spoon the filling into the tin and spread to level the mixture. Using the back of a spoon, make four deep indentations in the mixture and crack an egg into each of them. Repeat the rolling, draping and brushing with the two remaining balls of dough to make a top for your pie. Trim the overhanging pastry to just 2cm, then fold in the dough edge, crimping as you go, to seal the pie.
6. Whisk 1 teaspoon of water into the remaining egg to make a wash and brush the top of the pie and the crimped edge. Using a fork, poke a few steam holes in the middle of the pie and sprinkle with extra Maldon Sea Salt.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the pastry is golden and the pie is piping hot in the middle. Check by inserting a metal skewer into the pie; it should come out very hot to the touch. Allow to cool briefly, then remove the pie from the tin and transfer to a serving plate or board.
