• prep: 1 hr
• cook: 3 hr
• total: 4 hr

servings:

Pizza rustica looks nothing like the Neopolitan-style pizzas we know so well in this country. That's because pizza in Italian means pie and not all Italian pies are made with a bread dough. Pizza rusticas tend to be double-crusted affairs enclosing a mixture of cheese and nuggets of various cured meats and sausages. With its rich filling, pizza rustica is often served at Easter as a way to celebrate after the lean eating during Lent. In this version, author Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez makes an open-faced pizza rustica.

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
• 1 cup ricotta (preferably fresh or homemade ; 8 ounces)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano
• 2/3 cup coarsely grated aged provolone
• 3 ounces thinly sliced Italian deli meats such as soppressata, prosciutto, capicolla ham, and salami, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (9-inch) tart pan with a removable bottom
• pie weights or dried beans

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