Erbazzone is basically a vegetable pie/tart that could be served as an appetizer, brunch, or main dish. The history of this dish originates in the Parma region of Italy, where they have ideal conditions for producing exquisite Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Yum. Seriously, can I go there, like right now? Cured meats and artisan cheese is a match made in heaven. You could get creative with the filling and add whatever you like. We added mushrooms, since I love anything and everything with spinach and mushrooms. Lots of erbazzone recipes use swiss chard, or beet greens.
The pastry dough for this recipe calls for a combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour. By combining these two, you're basically making pastry flour, which allows for a more tender and delicate crust than you would get by using only all-purpose flour. You could use only all-purpose (pastry will be slightly more tough), but do not use only cake flour. If you use only cake flour, your result will be much too delicate and won't hold up properly.
This pastry dough recipe also calls for chilled olive oil in addition to the chilled unsalted butter. Make sure to plan ahead enough for the olive oil to chill until semi-solid before preparing the dough. (Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small dish in the freezer for about 15 minutes.) You could also substitute shortening in place of the chilled olive oil if you would like which would yield a nice flaky dough also, however the olive oil lends great flavor to the pastry.
Erbazzone (Savory Spinach and Mushroom Pie)
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, chilled
- 7 to 10 tablespoons cold water
For the Filling:
- 5 ounces pancetta, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 shallots, minced (about ½ cup)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds spinach, blanched in boiling water until almost wilted, then drained, squeezed dry, and chopped
- ½ pound mushrooms, sliced
- 1 ½ to 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for brushing on crust
Instructions
Make the Dough-
- In a large bowl, combine the flours and salt. Make a well in the center, and add the butter and olive oil. Using pastry cutter, or two butter knives, or your fingers, blend in the fats until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 7 tablespoons of the cold water over the mixture and blend together until the dough begins to form. Add more water in small additions as needed. Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
Make the Filling-
- In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of the pancetta, about ½ teaspoon of the garlic, ¼ cup of the shallots, and a generous amount of black pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet, saute mushrooms until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
- Cook the remaining pancetta in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Add remaining shallots and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the shallots have softened. Uncover skillet, raise heat to high and cook until filling has browned, about 5 more minutes. Add the spinach, reduce heat to medium, and cook until spinach is tender, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in remaining garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Place the filling into a large bowl and let cool.
- Stir the mushrooms to the filling mixture, then add 1 ½ cups of the Parmigiano-reggianoand the reserved pancetta/shallot/garlic mixture. Adjust seasonings as needed, and add more Parmigiano if you desire. Blend in the eggs.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with a baking stone set on the rack in the lowest position.
- Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of the dough into a 14-inch circle.
- Sprinkle a pizza peel or wooden board with a little bit of flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Place one circle of dough on the board and top with the filling mixture, leaving a 2 inch border around the edges.
- Dampen the edges of the bottom crust with water, then top with the second circle of dough,and pinch the edges together. Fold the edges over and crimp. Cut a few slit in the top of the crust to allow the steam to escape.
- Gently slide the pie onto the preheated baking stone and bake for 20 minutes. Brush the crust with olive oil and bake for 20 more minutes until the crust is crisp and lightly golden.
- Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Molto Italiano by Mario Batali
bakeritalia
Mushrooms with anything and I'm happy, it looks wonderful!