Vegetarian Easter tortano
Tortano is a typical savoury pie from Campania that is prepared during the Easter season.
The risen, fluffy dough, shaped like a big doughnut, is filled with cured meats and cheeses and then baked until nice and golden.
I want to offer you my vegetarian version, made with seasonal vegetables and cheeses, in which, instead of the traditionally expected lard, I used extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients for 4 persons
For the dough
250 g remilled semolina
250 g all purpose flour
12 g fresh yeast
250 g lukewarm water
70 g evo oil
9 g salt
For the filling
200 g boiled and squeezed green kale
50 di grated pecorino cheese
50 g fresh goat cheese
50 g fresh or semi-matured sheep cheese, like ricotta salata (you can substitute with feta)
black pepper
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes + 2 hours resting
Let’s cook!
Add the flours in a kneading bowl, make a crater in the middle of it.
Dissolve the fresh yeast in 50 g of lukewarm water.
In the crater, pour the dissolved yeast and the olive oil. Start to knead.
Add gradually the rest of the water and then, at the end, the salt. Continue kneading until you have a smooth, elastic ball.
Let rise at room temperature for 1 hour in the kneading bowl, covered with a damp cloth.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, giving it a rectangular shape (35 by 20 cm).
Pour a drizzle of oil over the entire surface and sprinkle all over it the grated pecorino, the cabbage leaves and the shredded cheeses.
Roll the dough on itself and place it in a previously oiled ring shaped baking pan. Let rise for one more hour, covered with a damp tea towel.
Brush the tortano pie with a little oil and water. Then bake at 180 degrees for one hour, until golden brown.
Did you like my recipe? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and get every month 4 new Italian recipes, tested during my cooking classes, using seasonal ingredients.
You will also receive:
- the e-book I’ve created for you about the must-have Italian ingredients to create the magic in your kitchen
- fact sheets on the ingredients of Italian cuisine, how to recognize the quality ones and how to use them
- updates on all my events, tastings and coming cooking classes.