Easter means Pizza Rustica

As Palm Sunday is the start of Holy Week, we’re getting ready for Easter, which means it is time for Pizza Rustica. Now don’t be thinking about that red-sauce, basil, and tomato kind of pizza—pizza rustica is more like a stuffed pie/quiche experience, and is a traditional, savory treat for the Easter holiday. To me, Pizza Rustica is the taste of when Lent meant treats were missing from the house, Fridays were always fish, and Easter Sunday felt like a joyous day—a relief from the season of sacrifice, with flowers everywhere, and a new dress and hat for church. The cheesy and meaty pie particularly reminds me of my maternal grandmother, Julia. Both my maternal grandparents passed when I was in my early teens, and my memories of them aren’t so vivid. My mom loved my grandmother’s Pizza Rustica, and I clearly remember mom so looking forward to Julia’s specialty, anticipating it every year and talking about it for all of Holy Week.

You might be thinking that my Italian-American upbringing meant my nonne were proper cooks. While my paternal grandmother, Mary, was a true chef, I wouldn’t describe Grandma Julia this way. She cooked, but it wasn’t like those classic Sunday Dinner images you have in your head. Pizza Rustica, however, was the star of her cooking show, gliding cheesily above all her other works. One bite of this Easter Pie sends me right back to their crowded dinning room table, watching my mom cut herself one piece after another, but being sure to leave enough to take home.

Eggs, mozzarella, ricotta, parmigiano-reggiano, sausage, soppressata, prosciutto, and ham, all baked under a flaky crust, make Pizza Rustica the edible version of that joyous childhood Easter feeling. Traditionally served as an antipasto before dinner, you can find this pie in Italian-American bakeries all during Holy Week. Every town in the South of Italy has their own tweaks and version of this classic Easter treat, so when I want to make my own, I use Michele Scicolone’s, which I find is closest to Grandma Julia’s, and is indisputably delicious.