In the U.S. when I hear the word pie the smell of baked fruit and cinnamon floods my nostrils. Visions of warm apples in a golden crust topped with melting vanilla ice cream come to mind. In Rome, I think of torta rustica or savory pie. It’s hard to imagine that the Romans made savory pie-like pastries during the Roman times and in Middle Ages. The crust was dense and hardly edible. Its main purpose was to keep meat moist during cooking.
Thankfully, today’s crust is moist and flaky and stuffed with vegetables, cheese and salami. Every season, I try different vegetable fillings and work on perfecting the crust. Artichoke and chard is my latest and favorite combo.
Ingredients for the filling
- 800 gr (28 oz) of chard, cleaned
- 6 – 8 artichokes
- 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 150 gr (5 oz) parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients for the dough
- 500 gr (5 1/4 cups) of flour
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Preheat oven to 375°F/190 °C
Filling
Clean the chard. Parboil it for 5 minutes. Drain and let cool.
Chop it.
Clean the artichokes; discard the tough outer leaves. Slice thinly and place in water with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan, add chopped onion, let cook for approximately 5 minutes. Add the artichokes, salt and pepper and cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until tender. Add the chard and let cook for 3 – 5 minutes.
Add the parmesan and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Dough
Mix the flour with olive oil, salt and a generous amount of water. You want the dough to be soft, elastic-like.
Grease a round baking pan (approximately 24 cm (9.5 in) in diameter) with oil. Roll out half of the dough in the shape of a circle. Place in pan, add filling; covering the dough evenly.
Top with the remaining dough in the shape of a disk or with strips in a lattice pattern. Seal the edges. If covering with a disk use a fork to prick the crust. In a pinch use pre-made dough.
Place in preheated oven for approximately 45 mins or until the crust is golden brown.
Let cool a bit before serving. Enjoy!
If you’re in Rome, stop by Al Vino Al Vino (Via dei Serpenti 19) for a glass of wine and slice of Giacomo’s homemade torta rustica. Delicious!
When winter strikes, I find myself spending more time baking. A few years ago my Mom gave me a leather bound book with my grandmother Louise’s signature recipes. She hand-wrote each one. It is the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. I keep adding more of my grandmother’s recipes to it, testing them and retesting them.
I recently made a version of her anise biscotti. In Italy, the term biscotti refers to a twice-baked cookie. I adapted the recipe using butter instead of margarine and orange essence instead of anise oil.
I was a bit worried when I mixed the ingredients together, rolled out the dough and it looked a little less than appetizing!
15 minutes later and out came a tray of sparkling gems.
The cookies were melt in your mouth-crumbly and packed a chocolate punch. Serve them warm or at room temperature. The next time I make them, I’ll try reducing the quantity of butter.
Luca Montersino’s desserts are available at 