Torta Pasqualina – Ligurian Easter cake

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 14 sheets of filo pastry, round
• 700 g leaf spinach, frozen
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 dry bread roll
• 80 g Parmesan
• 100 ml milk
• 500 g ricotta
• 8 eggs
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes

in simplified form with filo dough

Thaw the spinach and chop it slightly, season with salt, pepper, and marjoram. Soak the bread roll in the milk, then drain the ricotta or quark. Mix 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan with two beaten eggs and add to the bread roll. Then add the ricotta (because of the fat content, I personally use half ricotta and half low-fat quark or cottage cheese, which tastes good and is lower in calories). Mix well and fold in the spinach. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Lightly oil a springform pan, place a sheet of filo pastry in it so that the bottom is covered and the pastry hangs slightly over the edge of the pan. Since filo pastry is very thin, you need to work with some sensitivity. Lightly oil the pastry sheet and place the next sheet on top. Repeat this process until half the dough is used up. I use 7 sheets, but if you’d like a bit more dough, you can use one or two more. Now spread the spinach and ricotta filling on the dough and use the back of a spoon to make 6 indentations. Carefully, so as not to damage the yolks, drop the beaten eggs into these in. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over them. Now add the remaining sheets of dough, one at a time, and brush each with a little oil. Roll the overhanging sheets of dough inwards, press down slightly, and brush the edges with a little oil. Now pierce the dough base a few more times with a skewer to let the air out, but carefully so as not to damage the yolks and cause them to leak out. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for approx. 75 minutes at 200°C (top/bottom heat). The cake is served lukewarm or cold and is a typical Easter dish. However, in Italy the dough is homemade. But filo pastry is a good substitute and doesn’t require as much work.