No More Sweet Cheesecakes, This One Has Meat
You think you know cheesecake, but have you noticed the cheesecake staring at you from across the room? She is a little unusual and needs your attention. This cheesecake is 180 degrees from the sweet cream cheese dessert of your childhood. It’s called country pizza, and it’s a cheesecake that can be eaten as a meal. It’s savory, stuffed with salty cubes of meat and cheese, and just as decadent as a cheesecake should be.
What is country pizza?
Village pizza is an impressive Italian dish that goes by many names (including pizza di pascua, easter pie, or pizza), but it’s not the name that makes the cheesecake, it’s the contents. Mainly made up of ricotta cheese, eggs, meats and cheeses, the decadence doesn’t stop there. Baking just the filling would be irresistible, but how about covering the whole thing in a buttery pie crust? It’s salty, gooey, full-bodied, with umami and the perfect main course. You deserve to eat it for dinner.
Dessert cheesecake has its time and place, but rustic pizza is far less picky. The filling doesn’t require any complicated stirring method, no bain-marie or raising or lowering the temperature in the oven, you just need to bake it and come back later when you’re hungry. In some recipes, you layer the meat, alternating with the cheese filling, and it looks nice, but I keep it simple and evenly distribute the pieces of meat throughout the dough. In my opinion, it’s much more fun to stumble across a quarter-inch piece of salami.
Key Tools to Achieve Your Pizza Profits:
How to cook rustic pizza?
Line the cake pan with any pie dough recipe you like. Roll out the second piece of pie dough into a circle about an inch larger in diameter than the top of the cake pan. Place both in the refrigerator while you mix the filling. Add the ricotta cheese to a large bowl and stir in one egg at a time. Add salt, chopped herbs, meat and cheese and mix well.
Take the cakes out of the refrigerator. Brush the top edge of the pie crust in a cake pan with egg wash (the top will stick to it). Pour the filling into the cake pan and smooth it out, being careful not to touch the egg-washed top edge. Place the circle of dough on top of the filling and place the edges on the edge of the pan so that both pieces of dough are in good contact with each other. Trim off any fuzzy edges of the crust. The egg wash will secure the seam, but if you like the patterned edge, you can pinch it decoratively with your fingers or a fork. Wash the top of the egg and cut a vent hole in the top crust. Bake at 350°F for one hour or until they are evenly browned and puffed up in the center.
While this cheesecake looks spectacular on a tall, straight-sided platter, there are no rules as to what type of pan you can use. You can bake this pie in a cast iron skillet and serve it straight from the pan, or keep it simple and pour the filling into a ready-made, store-bought, frozen pie shell. You can even leave it open or place strips of another frozen pie shell on top.
If you’re going to use a straight-sided cake pan, I recommend using an indentation pie crust recipe . The straight sides break easily and the pressed crust is ideal for patching holes with minimal negative impact. If you make this delicious cheesecake for dinner and a sweet one for dessert, you are a national hero and I applaud you.
Pizza Rustica
Ingredients:
- Recipe for double cake dough
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 3 eggs
- 8 ounces salami, cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 4 ounces fontina, cut into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ cup grated mozzarella
- 2-4 green onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- egg wash
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Divide the double pie dough recipe into two parts, one third and two thirds. Press most of the pie crust into the cake pan so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pan evenly. Roll out the smaller portion into a circle about an inch larger than the cake pan. Place both in the refrigerator to keep cool while you make the filling.
Place the ricotta cheese in a large bowl and stir in the eggs one at a time. Combine all remaining ingredients, except for the optional Parmesan. Remove the chilled pie crusts from the refrigerator. Brush the top inner edge of the pie crust in a cake tin with egg. Pour the filling into the cake pan, smooth out. Place the cake circle on top of the filling, tucking it up to the edge to secure both cakes together through the egg wash rim. Cut off the excess crust from the top. Rinse the entire top of the egg and cut a vent in the center.
Bake rustic pizza for 60 minutes at 350°F. If using Parmesan, sprinkle it on the top crust during the last five minutes of baking. Let cool in the mold for about 20 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge to make sure it releases. Flip the rustic pizza onto a rack. Flip again so it’s the right side, onto a serving platter. Serve warm.