Riviera Egg Pie Recipes

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat into smaller pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens to a brick red, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a high simmer, then adjust to a low simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes. (You can make and cool the sauce the day before. Reheat before using the next day.)
• For the pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook the pasta until slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and toss with the remaining tablespoon oil, then spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Spread 1/4 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Stand the rigatoni on their ends in the pan until it is completely filled.
• For the ricotta filling: Stir together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, snip off just enough of the tip to make a small opening and pipe into each rigatoni tube. Pipe small mounds of any leftover ricotta mixture on top of the pasta and spread out into a thin layer. (You can cook and fill the pasta the day before.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the filled springform pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. Pour 2 cups of the meat sauce over the pasta, spreading it with the back of a spoon so that it drips in between the noodles. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 45 minutes (do not skip this part or your noodles will fall apart when serving!). Sprinkle with parsley, if using, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Cut the pie into wedges and serve with the reserved meat sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Add sausage, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, Ranch dressing and milk. Stir in shredded cheese. Season with hot sauce, salt, pepper and sugar.
• Spread sausage mixture in the bottom of crust. Cover with egg mixture, and shake lightly to remove air, and to level contents.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven, prick top with a knife, and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Up to a day ahead, make the pastry by rubbing the flour and butter together with your fingers until you have achieved a crumbly texture. Mix the eggs, olive oil and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt with the flour - if the pastry is too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon warm water. Wrap the pastry in cling film and put in the fridge to chill for at least an hour and up to a day ahead.
• On the day, prepare the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok, tip in the onion and fry over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until lightly coloured and softened. Stir in the garlic and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes. Tip this mixture into a large bowl.
• In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of the oil and cook the spinach in batches for 3-4 minutes until wilted, tipping each batch into a colander to drain (you may need to add a little more oil to the pan after the second batch).
• When all the spinach is cooked, heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan and fry the artichokes for 3-4 minutes until they begin to brown. Tip the artichokes and drained spinach into the bowl of onion and garlic, mix thoroughly and season generously. Cover and leave to cool.
• Boil and peel the eggs, then immerse in a bowl of cold water and keep in the fridge.
• In the afternoon, preheat your oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Divide the pastry in two, one piece a little larger than the other. Roll out a 35cm/14in disc and a 30cm/12in disc and trim the edges. If you are feeling creative, use the trimmings to make decorative pastry leaves.
• Lightly oil a shallow, loose-bottomed 25cm/10in flan tin and line it with the larger pastry disc, making sure that you have an even rim protruding slightly above the side of the tin. If your pastry begins to crack, patch it up with some of the trimmings. Spoon the filling into the case. Remove the eggs from the water and dry gently. Cut in half and push them, cut side up, into the filling. Brush the protruding pastry rim with a little oil and use the remaining disc as a lid, crimping the edges together neatly. Decorate with pastry leaves if you've made them and brush with more olive oil.
• Bake the pie for about 30-35 minutes - the filling is fully cooked before baking, so it's only necessary to bake long enough for the pastry to be fully cooked. Allow the pie to cool and serve at room temperature.