Italian Spinach Torta Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray or grease the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Roll 2/3 of dough into a circle and press onto bottom and up sides of pan. (I can give you a great pie dough recipe if you like, or use a convenience package.)
• 2. Fill half the meat in the crust.
• 3. Then half of the cream cheese and pesto.
• 4. Then half of the olives and red peppers.
• 5. Finally, half the spinach and shredded cheese. Then repeat it all.
• 6. Roll out final 1/3 of dough into an 8-inch circle, and place atop fillings, pinching seams with bottom crust to seal. Make vent holes with a fork. t
• 7. Then brush with beaten egg.
• 8. Bake 50 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes, then remove from pan.
• 9. Slice into wedges. This is also great at room temperature or cold. What a different, delightful sandwich!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Saute onion and garlic in oil in large saucepan until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and spinach and continue cooking until mushrooms have released their juices and spinach has wilted. Continue cooking until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
• Beat eggs slightly in large bowl. Add ricotta and parmesan, sour cream, bread crumbs and parsley to eggs. Drain excess liquid from vegetables, then add to cheese mixture. Stir until well blended.
• Brush some of melted butter on large baking sheet. Count out 6 phyllo leaves and carefully lift them up and lay flat on buttered baking sheet.
• Spread filling over middle of leaves, leaving a 3 inch border all around. Brush edges with butter.
• On top of the filling, lay down 2 leaves of phyllo at a time, brushing top leaf with butter each time. After 4 pairs, fold corners of all phyllo leaves up over filling, and brush with butter.
• Lay down 2 more pairs of leaves, buttering top leaf of each pair. Tuck edges under torta, corners first, then sides. Sprinkle top with sesame or poppy seeds.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 50 minutes or until filling is set and phyllo is crisp and golden. Allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush a pie plate with 1 tablespoon olive and dust with 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir leeks with a pinch of salt in hot oil until leeks are soft and sweet, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir garlic into leeks and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir leek mixture, rice, spinach, 3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, eggs, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Transfer spinach-rice mixture to the prepared pie dish and smooth the surface with a spatula; dust the top with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until torta is lightly browned around the outside and firm to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Roll three-quarters of the pastry into a 15x19 rectangle. Fit the pastry in an oiled half sheet pan. Shape a lip around the edge and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add spinach and then almost immediately remove to a bowl of ice water. Drain and chop.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add red onion. Allow to cook until soft. About 5 min. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. About 1 min.
• Beat egg in a large bowl. Beat in ricotta. Stir in the spinach, onions, cheeses and seasonings.
• Spread over the pastry dough. Lattice the remaining pastry dough and brush with egg wash.
• Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden.
• For the pastry dough - dissolve yeast in water and then add sugar. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes or until creamy.
• Beat in egg and olive oil.
• Combine flours and salt and then stir into the yeast mixture. I do this by hand with bowl and a wooden spoon. If you have a mixer use the paddle. Work the dough until it's a cohesive mass, add flour as you need to.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Be careful to not overwork the dough.
• Shape into a ball and place into a lightly oiled glass bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about one hour or until doubled in size.
• On a lightly floured surface gently knead the dough a couple of times and then cut into 2 pieces. Cover loosely and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Roll-out according to your recipe needs.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. Unroll 1 tube of crescent dough and separate into triangles. Press onto bottom of prepared pan to form a crust, sealing seams well. Bake until set, 10-15 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and mushrooms; cook and stir until mushrooms are tender. Drain on several layers of paper towels, blotting well. In a large bowl, whisk 6 eggs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper., Layer crust with half of each of the following: ham, salami, provolone cheese, red peppers and spinach mixture. Pour half of the egg mixture over top. Repeat layers; top with remaining egg mixture., On a work surface, unroll and separate remaining crescent dough into triangles. Press together to form a circle and seal seams; place over filling. Whisk remaining egg; brush over dough., Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer reads 160°, 1 to 1-1/4 hours, covering loosely with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning. Carefully loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove rim from pan. Let stand 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.