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Easter Torte
(Caputo's Torta Pasqualina)

Source: KSL TV

Presented by Tony Caputo's
on April 06, 2004

"This traditional Ligurian recipe is good any time of the year."

1-17 oz. pkg puff pastry sheets (2 sheets), thawed
2 lbs. chard, red or Swiss, stems removed and chopped coarsely
12 oz. ricotta cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
1 14 oz. can articoke bottoms, rinsed, sliced about 1/3 of an inch thick
freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs fresh marjoram or oregamo leaves, minced
3 T butter, melted
4 medium eggs

Method:
Place a small pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil, add the chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Turn off heat and cover the pot and let sit an additional 5 minutes. Drain and let cool. When cool, squeese off excess liquid and set aside. Combine the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, and some of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and mix well. Add more Parmigiano Cheese if the mixture is too moist, it should be somewhat dry.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 12 inch pie tin and place one sheet of the puff pastry to line the pan, stretching if necessary to reach the edges of the pie tin. Layer the cooked chard, the sliced artichoke bottoms and the ricotta cheese mixture in the pastry. Season with the fresh black pepper and marjoram leaves.

Form four indentations in the filling deep enough to hold an egg. Place a bit of butter in each indentation and crack an egg in each, being careful not to break the yolk. Cover with any remaining Parmingiano Reggiano cheese and a spinkle of salt. Carefully place the second sheet of pastry dough over the entire pie tin, again being careful not to break the yolks. Trim the excess dough from the edges and bake for about 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden and puffy. Serve warm or at room temperature.