Friday, March 25, 2011

Useful Information About Italian Easter Pies

By Fabio DeMartino


Part of the Easter celebrations in Italy is the making of the Italian Easter pie. This was a dish that kept the family members looking forward to Easter because it is was such a treat. Over the years the pie that was particularly reserved for the Easter celebrations is now made whenever and wherever people feel like eating it.

With the advancements in mass communication the recipe has reached all parts of the world. Even though the pie keeps its name as the Italian Easter pie you don't really have to wait till Easter to entertain yourselves with this pie nor do you have to be Christian!

Primarily an Italian Easter pie is quite like a quiche. It is a kind of savoury pie that is filled with eggs, cheese, meat and a wide range of other ingredients. The Easter pie holds a remarkable place in the lives of the Italian Christians. This is because the period before Easter Sunday is a period of fasting and Easter Sunday offers them the opportunity to celebrate with something meaty, cheesy and delicious. You can find the Easter pie with several names and variations in its recipes.

The city that brought us pizza has its own version of the Easter pie known as pastiera. The people of Naples are into using ricotta cheese and whole grains in the preparation of the Easter pie. Pizza piena is another name that they have given to it which means stuffed pie. Pizza gain is another name used for the same food item and so is Pizza Rustica and Pizzachino.

The Sicilians use pork, cheese, macaroni and eggs in the making of their Easter pie whereas the Calabrians are into ham, sausages, mozzarella, ricotta and hard cooked eggs. The special version of the Easter pie that is found in the region of Liguria is known as Pasqualina and is made using spinach, ricotta cheese and eggs.

Easter pie can be found primarily as a kind of bread than as a pie in the central region of Italy. This is equally so in the regions from Umbria to Marches. The central Italian Easter pie is known by the names pizza di pasqua and torta di pasqua.

There is no hard and fast rule to the preparation of the Italian pie when it comes to the types and volume of cheese and meat that you can use in the making of the pie. You can do that to suit your taste. Semi soft cheese however seems to work better as it melts into the pie and results in better baking.

Finely grated Parmesan or Romano can be added to give an extra flavour to the Italian Easter pie. Of course there are various options of meat available in the use of sausage, pancetta, sopressa and pepperoni.

If you are not into rustling up your own pie crust then you can easily buy ready made pie crusts to make the job easier. Have fun experimenting with the Italian Easter pie as anything you make is bound to have a good taste.




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