This savory pie is served at room temperature. Two teaspoons dried basil may be substituted for fresh basil. Use ham or prosciutto ham.
This is an incredible recipe! A must for any good dinner party. It should be sliced thin, as it is very heavy. I've served it both hot and cold, and cold is easier to cut. Don't cut corners with the prociutto - It is definitely worth it. This crust recipe is very easy to work with, also.
Read More
The flavor of this torta was good, but the texture was a miss. Neither ricotta nor feta are smooth cheeses, and the addition of cornmeal to the crust lended a gritty feel to this. This was not complicated to make, but it is time consuming. Although this makes a beautiful presentation, I would not make again based on prep time and mouth feel.
Read More This is an incredible recipe! A must for any good dinner party. It should be sliced thin, as it is very heavy. I've served it both hot and cold, and cold is easier to cut. Don't cut corners with the prociutto - It is definitely worth it. This crust recipe is very easy to work with, also.
I've been looking for a torta recipe for along time. This made it worth the wait. It was the most requested recipe at my cocktail party last night. The crust is wonderful and very easy. I wilted fresh spinach (one bag of pre-washed salad spinach) and thoroughly dried the red pepper strips on paper towels. Next time I make it, I will reduce the ricotta filling by 1/3 and, instead, add another layer of the peppers - i.e. use the whole jar. I will also add a little onion to the ricotta mixture for a little more flavor. Make sure that the crust truly does not extend beyond the edge of the springform pan. If it does, you won't be able to remove the side ring without breaking the edges of your pretty crust :>( I'm excited to try other variations... I'll start with Italian sausage and sauteed mushrooms with fresh spinach. This recipe is a real keeper - delicious and very showy. I felt I got great return for my money and investment of time.
I found it extremely easy to make this dough in the food processor. All of these flavors were fabulous together (it smelled so delicious baking, we couldn't wait the 45 minutes for it to cool). I most likely won't add the feta next time, as I really couldn't taste it. I did add olives and a top layer of sharp provolone (very tasty)...I may try additional ingredients next time also (i.e. sauted onions, mild sausage, etc.). Overall...great.
Beautiful recipe when sliced. A real wow-getter. Lotta work, though. But if it's a special recipe for a special occasion you're needing, this is it. Very Italian, too. =)
The flavor of this torta was good, but the texture was a miss. Neither ricotta nor feta are smooth cheeses, and the addition of cornmeal to the crust lended a gritty feel to this. This was not complicated to make, but it is time consuming. Although this makes a beautiful presentation, I would not make again based on prep time and mouth feel.
This was delicious and gets 5 stars for the leftovers. Fresh and cooled, same day, this gets 4 stars. I was so worried it would get soggy over night if made the day before, so I woke up early Easter to assemble and bake this for brunch. It was really delicious and easier to make than you think (I prepped all the night before, assembly in the morning was quick and easy would recommend this for everyone). BUT BEWARE- I asked everyones advice and came to a conclusion it would be soggy leftover and best eaten same day, BUT it was sooo much better the next 2 days. The flavors were not melded when eaten on Easter, and although it was good, it was much better after sitting a day in the fridge and slighly warmed up. The flavors really came out after a day or so, and I wish I had made it the night before it would have been much more flavorful for the in-laws I was trying to impress. Was still good, but much better the next day. I did use the whole jar of peppers, was not much so I assume only using 1/2 is not enough. Take a risk and use all the red peppers. I also added provolone and did an Italian 5 cheese blend instead of just mozzarella.
The crust is great and easy to work with. I substituted pepperoni for the prosciutto. The next time I make it, I will be adding sauted onions and garlic to add a bit more flavor.
Tasted good, and went together easily, but very time-consuming. I would add some sauteed garlic next time.
This takes time to put together, but it is really remarkably simple for such a spectacular result. The crust holds together well, is easy to roll, and can be pressed into the pan without incident. The flavor is phenomenal. This is a great recipe!
Very nice recipe. It came out beautiful and the crust was much easier to make than any I have made before. I am not a proscuitto or ham fan, so I substitited with some pepperoni. Instead of roasted peppers I added olives and canned mushrooms and it was terrific. I will make this again (and again).
I entered this in a product specific (LaQuercia Meats) food contest at the Iowa State Fair and took first prize!! I made it as written with minor changes - I used proscuitto for the ham, the whole 15 oz pkg of ricotta cheese (what are you suppose to do with the remaining 1/3 cup?) and the whole jar of peppers. I halved everything and repeated the layers. The judges raved about it, and when I passed around samples people gave me their emails so I could send them the recipe!! Thanks you Christine!
I've made this twice- both times, a raging success. Excellent recipe, easily made. Thanks!
An absolutely beautiful, impressive, 5 star presentation for this recipe. I followed the recipe as written except I misread the part about a 1/2 jar of roasted red peppers and added the whole 16 oz. jar which turned out just fine. I made the crust in a food processor and didn't think this was a complicated recipe to assemble for the beautiful results. Next time I will cut way back on the spinach and add sauteed onions and garlic. Mushrooms and Calamata olives would be good in this also. We preferred eating this slightly warm as opposed to cold and served it with a chunky tomato sauce on the side. I am giving this 4 stars as the crust seemed just a little gritty with the cornmeal...I know that it is supposed to be rustic, but I would probably only serve this occasionally.
We thought this was great. My husband particularly liked it -- he made the noises he usually reserves for particularly good cuts of beef, which was interesting, since he isn't fond of pork and vegetables aren't topping the charts either. But somehow this worked (probably due to the cheese!). I did add copious amounts of garlic mixed right into the ricotta section and I replaced part of the spinach with sun-dried tomatoes. While this recipe has a very long ingredient list, it's not hard to do. The trickiest bit is the pie crust, really, and if you've a little experience there, you're good to go. I'm not sure if I'll make it again except for company as this did take me a fair bit of time and it is incredibly fattening! But it's delicious -- Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent. Used capacola ham and sauteed fresh spinach in olive oil with some minced garlic. Makes a wonderful presentation!
This is really good. I omitted the peppers because I don't like them, but added some sundried tomato to the ricotta mixture. Everyone liked the recipe and it came out great! Thanks!
This is very good. I've made this with the ham & mozzarella, and also tried it with turkey & provolone. Everyone loved it! I've also substituted puff pastry once because I was in a hurry. Great recipe, thanks!
This is the easiest crust to work with. It was a little bitt salty with the prociutto, but still very good flavor. Even better the 2nd day.
Great recipe. Made a few layering changes based on feedback but the recipe rocks! Made the dough using Julia Child's food processor method to make a pie crust and it worked perfectly. I did use semolina flour rather than corn meal as I prefer the less grainy texture. Also had beautiful swiss chard in the garden that needed to be picked that replaced spinach (sautéed with EVOO and garlic and then cooled, pressed dry, and chopped) . Did bottom layer of cheese mixture, layer of ham, more cheese mixture, chard, grilled red pepper strips, repeat with ham, cheese, chard, red pepper, then repeat one last time. Baking time and temp was spot on. Thanks for a great new addition to our recipe file. I'll upload a picture of the final product.
This recipe looks spectacular, but despite having so many ingredients, it doesn't have much good taste. I know, that sounds crazy. Also, it is very work intensive. I followed the recipe exactly. I will not make this again. I will stick with Ham and Onion Pie.
This "pie" is totally awesome! I have made it for many gatherings and EVERYONE likes it. I always get tons of great comments about it, and people even comment on how pretty it looks. The only thing I would change is to use fresh baby spinach instead of frozen. Just lightly saute a bunch of spinach with a few drops of olive oil, then be sure to remove ALL the moisture from it, once it has cooled. When the author says to "pat dry", she really means it...otherwise you will have a lot of liquid at the bottom of your finished product! Great recipe - I can't believe more people have not tried, and/or liked this recipe! They are missing out!
Beautiful presentation and taste was good but not outstanding. Still looks pretty and elegant.
Made it vegetarian! And lower fat! Instead of using any ham, I sauteed zucchini and added garlic to the cheese mixture. It was absolutely delicious and not lacking in any flavor. I thought it would be a problem to use fat-free ricotta but it was all I had. It turned out fantastic!
Very good, but nothing spectacular to make all the work it took to put this thing together justifiable.
This was delicious and pretty. Crust was simple to make, easy to put the pie together. I made it for lunch for my family and my mom said it was the best thing I have ever made. This is a great special occasion dish.
I did not have a spring form pan, and used a straight sided cake pan. The torta came out great! the corn meal was very nice, we managed to eat it up quickly.
This recipae is so easy to modify and, as previously posted, works well hot or cold. I find it perfect for a picnic after chilling in the fridge overnight. I bring a jar of pizza sauce (the torte keeps it cold) and pour a little over it. Of course, tomato sauce pairs well when it's served hot, too. Helps brighten this heavy dish up.
Very good. We made this as part of our 5 course Italian Christmas Dinner. Our guests loved it!! We made a couple of revisions by adding garlic, sundried tomatoes, and topping it with hollandaise sauce. The garlic was critical, the sundried tomatoes was because we had them to use, and the sauce was for that special Holiday touch. We will be making it again!
I didn't have quite enough time to let the torta cool down completely, so I served it when it was just slightly lukewarm. Still tasty though! I added some mushrooms and onions, sauteed, as a layer because I was low on some other ingredients. This is an excellent and adaptable recipe because it uses many things you usually have on hand.
Great! Crust is wonderful. The possibilities of fillings is endless. I think I will try some sausage next time and leave out the ham and spinach. It is filling and can feed quite a lot of people.
I needed to make two quiches for a shower, and I wanted to make something a little different, so I made this instead, and everyone loved it! Too bad I left the leftovers for the men to eat!
Very good and fun to make. Like a few others, I used fresh spinach and cooked it up with some onion and garlic, and then pressed out the liquid prior to adding it. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the instructions and it came out great. Crust cooked perfectly and was suited to the dish. We ate it warm for dinner tonight (after resting about 20 minutes), and will eat it cooled tomorrow. I’m sure it will be good both ways. Tasty and filling. I think I might like to add a little gruyere to the mix of cheeses next time.
How can you go wrong? I'll tell you how - my skimping on ingredients and not going with fresh herbs. Top notch ingredients and fresh herbs a must. So good.
Semolina flour instead of cornmeal and olive oil instead of butter. It makes it a smoother, less gritty feel to the mouth. I've made this recipe long before I saw it here and I do not put the top layer on. I cover it with a blend of mozzarella, provalone, and swiss cheese, ratio of 4/2/1 accordingly. I make my own italian sausage, and I also put pepperoni and zuchini in it. It was good the first time a made it in the 80's and still is to this day. Thanks for reminding of this recipe I will make it soon.
I liked the blend of flavors in this recipe, but it was EXTREMELY salty. I did not have fresh basil or oregano on hand, so I used dried in half the amount called for. If I make this again, I will probably eliminate the feta, and omit the salt/use unsalted butter in the crust to reduce the sodium. The crust was flawless ... I will definitely try it in place of a traditional pie crust for quiche recipes.
Good, very rich. Beautiful. I think would have been better had I found better sausage
Too much ricotta, not enough ham, I'll adjust the ratio next time, I'll also add another egg to bind it more
Came out awesome. Very impressive presentation when I brought to a recent party. Taste was also awesome. I personally left out the feta but will try next time.
yes to changes, on place of Green peppers I used tomato's, a bit more moister but great
I don't know if I'll ever make this again, but I'm glad I attempted! I LOVE the cornmeal crust. It also looked very pretty. We froze a quarter of it.
whole family loved it! Very easy to make substitutions with cheese, veggie and meat variations.
This tasted so much like a favorite cheese tart from Balthazar Bakery in NYC. The whole family loved it. For the sake of time, I used purchased pie crusts, which worked just fine.
This was an absolute stunner. I heated up some leftover marinara to go with it, but it didn't need it. I used regular sliced ham, but I cannot wait to make it with prosciutto. We loved this so much. Totally worth the time to make it.
Made this for the first time for Easter Brunch. I did make several minor adjustments. I used a 9 in. Spring form pan. I did not use the pie crust recipe. I wanted something basic. I put 2 cups of ricotta instead of 11/2, 2 eggs instead of 1 in the ricotta., 6oz. Container of Mediterranean flavored feta cheese. (Didn't have to add any other seasonings.) I brushed the top of the pie with and egg white wash. It cooked for about 1 hr. 15 min. To perfection. It was a HUGE HIT ????????????
I’m not much of a baker, but this looked good and I was inspired by watching baking shows. I mixed the dough in my food processor which made making the crust easier. I also don’t have a springform pan so I baked in two cake pans and stacked once cool. It worked great! Delicious and easier than expected, although a lot of clean up. Not an every week recipe, but worth the effort.
I love this although I did take some liberties with the fillings - used wilted spinach, sundried tomatoes as well as roasted peppers. I have a seven inch spring form so I made the recipe and adjusted the proportion of fillings. I think I have enough dough and ricotta mixture to make a second pie for giving! I think the crust could use a little more salt than called for and I did not find the texture of the filling or crust gritty. I was concerned after seeing the reviews but used fine stone ground cornmeal and loved the result. Not sure if it mattered but I used wondra flour and it turned out great. Very pleased.
