Shes a bit unusual, and she demands your attention.
This cheesecake is a complete 180 from the sweet, cream cheese-centric dessert of your childhood.
What is pizza rustica?
Primarily consisting of ricotta cheese, eggs, meats and cheeses, the decadence doesnt stop there.
Baking the filling alone would be irresistible, but how about encasing the entire thing in buttery pie crust?
Its salty, gooey, rich, umami-forward, and a perfect main course.
You deserve to have it for dinner.
Dessert cheesecake has its time and place, but pizza rustica is much less finicky.
Its more fun to stumble upon a quarter-inch nugget of salami, in my opinion.
Line a cake pan with any pie crust recipe you enjoy.
Place both in the fridge as you mix the filling.
Add the ricotta cheese to a large bowl and mix in one egg at a time.
Add salt, chopped herbs, the meat and cheese, and mix well.
Take the crusts out of the fridge.
Trim any shaggy crust edges.
Egg wash the top and cut a vent into the top crust.
Bake at 350F for one hour, or until evenly browned and slightly puffed in the center.
You could even leave it open, or top it with strips of another frozen pie shell.
If youre going to use a straight-sided cake pan, I recommend using apress-in pie crust recipe.
Divide the double recipe of pie crust into two portions, one third and two thirds.
Roll out the smaller portion into a circle about an inch wider in diameter than the cake pan.
Put both in the fridge to stay cool while you make the filling.
Put ricotta cheese in a large bowl, and mix in the eggs one at a time.
Mix in all of the remaining ingredients, except for the optional parmesan.
Take the chilled pie crusts out of the fridge.
Egg wash the top inner rim of the pie crust in the cake pan.
Pour the filling into the cake pan, and level it out.
Trim away excess crust on the top.
Egg wash the entire top and cut a vent into the center.
Bake the pizza rustica for 60 minutes at 350F.
If using parmesan, sprinkle it over the top crust during the last five minutes of baking.
Allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes.
Run a small paring knife around the edge to verify it releases.
Flip the pizza rustica out onto a wire rack.
Flip again, so its right-side up, onto a serving dish.
