I started drooling when I saw the cover of April’s edition of La Cucina Italiana: there, calling to me, sat a massive savory pie of ricotta, spinach, and eggs to celebrate spring. It’s called Torta Pasqualina, and you can check out its history and their recipe on their website. However this spring, admist everything going on, I’ve been trying to keep things simple. I’ve streamlined this recipe so it’s easy to assemble and only requires 4 ingredients.
Don’t let the low ingredient count fool you– this is a very rich and filling pie. Moreover, the ratio of effort to ooos and ahhs is definitely in your favor; this pie is a showstopper to bring to any spring gatherings. No pre-cooking is even necessary. Use frozen chopped spinach and puff pastry, and you can just assemble and stick it in the oven.
Do take a minute to mark the top of the pastry to remind you where you place the eggs– the side view of a beautifully halved egg will have people drooling. If you want to have fun with it, try chopping up some artichokes or mushrooms to mix in with the spinach and ricotta cheese, or double the spinach to create a very green filling, reminiscent of spring.
I was so excited, I just ate it straight from the pan 😀
Recipe: Torta Pasqualina
Ingredients:
15 oz package of ricotta cheese
8 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
6 eggs
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coat a 8-inch pan with cooking spray, butter, or oil.
Mix ricotta and thawed chopped spinach together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Measure one of the puff pastry sheets to the pan. If it is not large enough to cover the bottom and the sides, roll out the sheet until it fits on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.
Add the puff pastry sheet to cover the bottom and sides of the pan, and then fill with spinach-ricotta mixture.
Using a large spoon or ladle, make 6 dents in the spinach-ricotta filling.
Crack an egg into each dent. (It’s ok if they run together a bit.)
Cover with the remaining puff pastry sheet, and cut small vents in the top pastry over the middle of each egg. Cut off or fold excess pastry dough.
Bake pie in the oven for 1 hour, and let cool before serving.
I’ve noticed an abundance of pantry-ingredient recipes since self-quarantining has become the new normal. Many of these pantry recipes include canned tuna– in pasta, in casseroles, or dressed up with a sprig of parsley– and I can’t imagine anything less motivating for me to try to cook. I’ve just never been excited about canned fish. It rubs me the wrong way. It smells unappetizing, tastes bland, and often reminds me of serving cat food. I understand if I have to turn to it in a time of crisis, sure, I will eat it, but do I have to settle for a dry chunk of smelly and blah? No! And neither do you.
To me, Thai salads oppose everything sad that canned fish represents. Thai salad is fresh! It’s tangy! Explodes with flavor! A number of years ago I traveled to Thailand and was obsessed with their salads for the following reasons.
They dressed meat. In a salad. And it was freaking delicious!
Liberal use of very fresh herbs, onions, and citrus juice. It was so fresh there could have been dirt on it– and I wouldn’t have cared.
Thai chilies are fire engine hot. It burned my tongue and yet I couldn’t stop eating.
While my version of a Thai salad is nowhere near authentic (sadly I can never find lemongrass near me as fresh as I’d like), I’m trying to bring these elements to the food with ingredients that are a little easier to find in these days of hoarded toilet paper and flour.
In the recipe below, I’ve starred pantry ingredients for anyone who’d like to do a (mostly) pantry-only version– this adds a lot of flavor and freshness to plain canned tuna. For those fortunate to still have access to a grocery store or grocery delivery, I do encourage all of the fresh ingredients– you’ll never think of canned fish the same way again. Serve it on top of rice or noodles so the dressing can soak into those as well (my favorite part). It’s nowhere near as spicy as in Thailand, but enough to make your taste buds sing. Feel free to add more or less spice as you please. Or up your game to fresh Thai chilies. Perfect for spring, this recipe will make all of your Zoom meal buddies jealous.
Recipe: Thai-inspired tuna salad
* starred ingredients are for a pantry-provision only version 😉
Ingredients
* 1/2 tablespoon sugar * 3 teaspoons lime juice * 2 teaspoons fish sauce * 2 teaspoons soy sauce * 1 tablespoon sesame oil * 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 5-8 green onions, sliced. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the sliced white end. 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced. Set aside 1 tablespoon. * 2 cans of tuna or salmon 1 cup chopped cilantro * Optional: peanuts or sliced almonds
Instructions
Mix together sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl to make the dressing.
Add garlic, 3 tablespoons of green onion, 1 tablespoon of jalapeno, and canned tuna or salmon to the dressing and mix, breaking up the fish into bite-sized chunks.
Let sit for 5 minutes for the flavors to mix.
Mix in remaining green onions, jalapeno, and cilantro.
Optional: Serve with rice or noodles and top with peanuts or sliced almonds.
Friend weekend part 2: The exciting magic of choux pastry
When it comes to baking something that looks and tastes more impressive than the effort you put into it, I turn to choux pastry (pronounced like “shoo”). Seriously! And it’s actually really easy to cook at home. And yes, you actually cook the choux pastry dough! Because of that, I think it’s super fun to make, and the dough comes together in 5 minutes. Read through the instructions on how to cook the choux pastry dough a couple of times before you start and prepare accordingly– because it will come together quickly!
So we followed up our pavlova with profiteroles, the cute little bite-sized whipped cream sandwiches of the pastry world. And choux pastry really is a magical dough because it puffs up while baked to create a hollow shell that can be filled with even more deliciousness. You don’t need to spend time rolling out, shaping dough or keeping it cold. Little blobs on a baking sheet work just fine here.
My friends and I did attempt to make it look nice by piping the dough into cute little balls– spoiler alert– it was HARD, because the piping nozzle’s opening we used was a little to small for the thick dough, and we eventually recruited my friend’s husband to squeeze out dough when our hands were too tired– I would recommend a large opening for any pipe-hardy folks out there. But then you bake, the puff pastry does its magic thing, and everything seems to work out just fine in the end.
Quick poll: Do these look more like garlic knots or poo emojis?
Yes, our piped profiteroles reminded me of poo emojis– upon reflection, spooning out the choux pastry dough like cookies might work better for the piping-challenged like myself. But that’s why you douse the top in chocolate sauce. Not to add to the poo-emoji reference, but it actually covers up any pastry-shaping flaws really well. The end result, sandwiched between whipped cream (OK, I filled mine with mango sorbet) and topped with chocolate sauce, you can hardly tell. And when you eat it, you’re too distracted by reaching for another to even care. The choux pastry provides a perfectly thin, airy container for delicate fillings like whipped cream so it all can just melt in your mouth together.
Profiteroles are a handy finger-food dessert you can whip up for refined shindigs (place a bit of fresh mint leaf on top) or even a backyard barbecue (where ice cream filling would be a big hit). The choux pastry dough can be cooked and baked ahead of time, along with the chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and be assembled right before serving. Set aside a couple for yourself because they will go fast!
Recipe: Profiteroles with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
Ingredients
Choux pastry 1 cup water 1 stick unsalted butter ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 4 eggs
Whipped cream 1 cup heavy cream, chilled 1 tablespoon sugar
Chocolate sauce ⅓ cup brown sugar ¾ cup heavy cream 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken into small chunks
Instructions
Make the puff pastry
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
Add flour and stir into mix with a sturdy wooden spoon until it all comes together and forms a ball. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring, for a minute or two more.
Turn off heat and transfer dough to a large bowl to let cool for a few minutes. The dough must cool so that the eggs in the next step won’t turn to scrambled eggs. My rule of thumb if it feels hot or very warm to touch, it’s probably too warm for the eggs.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, folding them into the dough with a sturdy (the dough will be very thick) spatula. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated into dough before adding the next.
Scrape down sides of bowl and continue to mix until dough is smooth and glossy.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put dough in a pastry bag, use soup spoons, or cookie scoop to form balls that are about 2.5 inches in diameter. Space evenly, about an inch apart, the dough will not spread out much.
Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking until puffs are well browned and crisp, about 25 minutes more. Cool to room temperature.
While the puff pastry is baking, make the whipped cream
Whip heavy cream and sugar in a mixing bowl until it thickens and holds together.
While the puff pastry is baking, make the chocolate sauce
Place saucepan over low heat and melt together sugar, cream, and chocolate. Use a spatula to stir ingredients together as it melts, and be sure to mix in stuff from the bottom of the saucepan so it doesn’t burn or caramelize. If it starts to bubble a bit, turn the heat a little lower.
Remove from heat. Keep warm if assembling right away or refrigerate if preparing early. Reheat sauce on low heat if needed, until liquidy, before assembling.
Assemble profiteroles
Cut puffs in half horizontally.
Place a spoonful of whipped cream between halves and replace tops.
Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce and serve immediately.
Whenever I tell people that I took a weekend trip to NYC to visit some friends, their eyes immediately light up and they start asking about what I plan to do, imagining Broadway, one-of-a-kind dinners, and nights partying. Then I need to break it to them that our most exciting excursion was to Trader Joe’s and the only sightseeing I did was looking at the Manhattan skyline across the river from my friend’s street. Before I get a look of pity, I quickly add that we had all sorts of fun– gossiping about reality TV shows (which are only fun to watch with commentary on the side, in my opinion), chilling on the couch, and baking desserts. And then that look of pity slowly transforms and translates into something like: “You. Are. A. NERD!” And I’m OK with that, I had a blast.
One of these friends and I have a history of trying to tackle ambitious baking and cooking projects, and that weekend was no exception. She messaged me a few weeks before the trip proclaiming that she just watched a Great British Baking Show that featured pavlovas, and WE HAD TO MAKE ONE. Oh, just twist my arm. Of course I wanted to make a pavlova! As it happens, it had been on my bucket baking list for some time.
Before I continue, let me add that I was a little surprised at this request. When I had visited her just six months before and declared that we should try to make a baked Alaska, and how it was the most amazing combination of 3 of my favorite things (cake, ice cream, and marshmallowy meringue), she shrugged her shoulder and casually explained how she’s never been a fan of meringue or marshmallows.
[Insert dramatic pause]
I may have started at her mute and dumbfounded for a minute (this is hard for me to comprehend) before I started on a rant about the wonders of meringue for the next 20 minutes and maybe started to rethink the basis of our friendship, but y’know, you do you, and in all fairness, chalky supermarket marshmallows and bland meringue cookies never lived up to my hopes for them either. And I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t show how wonderful meringue can be. A mix of air and froth and vanilla! The pavlova was an opportunity to convert her. What’s not to love about a dessert that’s like a marshmallow cake? (An actual marshmallow cake will be my next birthday cake.)
And so we made our first pavlova, and it was just as wonderful as I imagined. (#pavLove!) The baked meringue has a slight crackling shell that protects a delightfully gushy vanilla inside. Adding homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, and fresh strawberries and blueberries on top create a light but extremely satisfying dessert. Everyone will want seconds.
As for my meringue-doubting friend, she also loved it. She even plans to make it for her in-laws! So why had she been opposed to meringue in the first place? I think she just had eaten bland meringues with bad texture. The vanilla flavor is important, as well whipping the egg whites properly. Whisking by hand will get you there eventually (have a friend on standby if your arm gets tired), but a hand or stand mixer will be your friends here. I also highly recommend making the lemon curd as– for one thing– it uses up the egg yolks leftover from making the meringue with egg whites, and also it’s easy, and you can flavor it to your preference.
This pavlova is a super elegant dessert that’s fit for impressing in-laws, date night, or even a summer treat.
A few weeks after the trip, my friend messaged me saying that she was inspired by another Great British Baking Show recipe, this time featuring a rolled meringue. Holy spatula, I better start preparing!
Pavlova, half-eaten.
Recipe: Pavlova with berries and whipped cream recipe
While this recipe may seem super fancy and fussy, outside of whipping up some egg whites and heavy cream (easier than you think), all you have to do is spread stuff on top of each other. You can try to sculpt a fancy shape with the meringue, but keep in mind that the meringue layer is expected to deflate a bit once it gets out of the oven and cools.
Ingredients
Meringue layer 4 egg whites Pinch of salt 1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon curd layer 1 cup lemon juice zest from one lemon 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar (and add more to taste) Pinch of salt
Whipped cream layer 2 cups heavy cream 1/4 cup sugar
Berry layer 1 cup assorted berries, as you like. I chose half-strawberry, half-blueberry.
Instructions
Make the meringue layer
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer (or for ambitious folks, beat by hand), combine egg whites and salt. Begin beating at low speed, slowly increasing to high. Continue until satiny peaks begin to form.
Gradually beat in sugar a tablespoon at a time until meringue is stiff and shiny.
Sprinkle in vanilla and fold in gently with a spatula. Gently is the key word here, stirring vigorously will break the meringue structure you just created.
Gently mound meringue onto parchment on baking sheet, and spread into a circle, flattening top and smoothing sides. You can make other shapes, but the cooking times may change.
Place in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 300 degrees. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off heat, and allow meringue to cool completely in oven.
While the meringue is baking, start the whipped cream
With a whisk or an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream and sugar to nearly stiff peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes.
While the meringue is baking, make lemon curd
Pour the juice into a small saucepan over medium-high heat, then bring to a simmer and let it reduce down to about 3/4 cup.
Stir in zest and turn off heat, letting the lemon juice to a cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Only once the lemon juice has cooled to room temperature, add egg yolk and sugar mixture to saucepan with lemon juice. If the juice is too hot, the eggs will cook too much and you will have scrambled eggs instead of curd.
Set saucepan over medium heat and stir until thickened — about 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture is 180°F. You don’t want it to boil, but if it bubbles a bit, that is fine, because it means it is thickening!
Stir in the pinch of salt while the curd is still warm.
Assemble pavlova only right before serving. While the layers can be made ahead of time, it should be assembled only when ready to eat.
Carefully peel off parchment and place meringue on plate.
Crack the top with the back of a spoon to make a shallow nest for toppings.
Spread lemon curd on top of meringue, then spread whipped cream, and finally sprinkle the top with berries. Serve immediately and enjoy!
