Torta pasqualina
Vegetable cakes are widespread throughout Liguria. They probably arose from the need to use leftovers, mixing them with something that would make them "stay together", so almost all kinds of vegetables are used. But who commands in Genoa is undoubtedly the Pasqualina Cake, now famous even beyond the border. Its origin goes back many centuries, when it was prepared during Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Christ: In the chronicles of the time there was talk of housewives so good at making this savory cake that they could superimpose 33 sheets in homage to the redeemer. Today, Pasqualina cake is a delicacy that can be found in many restaurants and delis of Genoa throughout the year.
Procedure:
Create a mound with flour and make a fountain, pour the oil, two pinches of salt and the warm water needed to obtain a soft and smooth dough.
After working it well, divide the dough into 33 bullets and let them rest, sprinkle with flour and covered with a damp cloth.
Meanwhile, clean the chards and boil them almost without water. Drain, wring and chop.
In a pan sauté the onion and garlic, add the chard and cook for 10 minutes. Pour them into a large bowl and mix with two eggs, 80 grams of grated Parmesan and chopped marjoram.
Drain the prescinseua well, mix it with 2 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of oil, 20 g. of grated cheese, then season with salt and pepper.
Now that the stuffing items are ready, prepare the cake base. Take one at a time 13 balls of dough, flatten them with a rolling pin, making them as thin as possible and thinning them again with greasy hands (held "fist" almost tight) until they become almost transparent. Grease the bottom of a pan and spread one after the other 13 sheets brushing each with oil, except the last.
Place the chard on top and cover it with the quagliata. With a spoon make 6 notches in which to lay the eggs, slightly salted.
Spread the other 20 bullets in the same way and place them on top of the filling, greased on both sides, trying to keep them detached from each other by blowing a little air with a straw; make the edges match so that they adhere well, then roll them up and form a cornice.
Brush the surface with oil and place in a preheated oven at 180° - 200° for about 50 minutes until the Pasqualina Cake is golden and with the crusty frame.
Some suggestions:A variant of the Pasqualina Cake is the Cappuccina Cake: it is prepared with the same ingredients, but instead of keeping separate vegetables, prescinseua and eggs, it mixes everything together. If you want to change the filling, the chard can be replaced with artichokes, cut into thin slices and fried with oil and chopped onion, combining it with ricotta cheese instead of prescinseua.
La ricetta è tratta dalla guida "Genova a Tavola", M&R Comunicazione,
Ingredients:
For the dough sheet:
- 500 g of flour
- two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- warm water
- salt to taste
For the filling:
- 1 kg of chard (better than "herbs")
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 8 eggs
- 100 g grated parmesan cheese
- 400 g prescinseua (Genoese quagliate)
- marjoram
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
*in bold type allergen ingredients
Typical products:
Bietole
Prescinseua