Spinach Ricotta Pie

Torte salate (savory pie) are very common in Italy. They're easy to whip up and can be brought to potluck dinners, picnics, office or school lunches.. There are lots of variations but today I'll be translating a spinach ricotta pie. When we were kids, my brother and I didn't really enjoy spinach. Or ricotta, that I can recall lol. My mum came up with a pretty smart trick: she'd make this pie and would add hot dogs. Nowadays hot dogs are frowned upon so it's up to you to add them or not, but I'll be sharing both versions here. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe for 1 pie:

1 pie shell

250 gr (1 cup) of ricotta

300 gr of spinach (frozen or fresh)

2 eggs

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/3 cup Philadelphia cheese (optional)

4 hot dogs (optional)

Pre heat your oven to 175 °C.

If using fresh spinach, wash and remove stems. Place spinach (whether fresh or frozen) in a non stick skillet and cook spinach until wilted (do not add water to cook them). Remove from skillet and chop them, squeezing excess water.

Place 250 gr of ricotta in a bowl, mash it up a bit. Add eggs, salt, pepper and cheddar cheese. Once spinach is cooked and excess water removed, add to the bowl. At this point you can add Philadelphia cheese and uncooked sliced hot dogs as well.

With the help of a fork, poke holes in your pie crust. Place the filling in the pie crust and bake at 175 °C for 20-25 minutes.

Take out of the oven and let cool down for 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

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Tips:

You can omit hot dogs or use cooked ham instead.

You can store this cooked savoury pie in the fridge for up to 2 days.