The ricotta and spinach savory pie is a particularly popular recipe, especially among those who are not good at cooking or don’t have much time available. Easy and quick to prepare, in fact, this unique dish has become synonymous with taste and success. Especially if you choose to use ready-made puff pastry.
The ricotta and spinach savory pie is a particularly popular recipe, especially among those who are not good at cooking or don’t have much time available. Easy and quick to prepare, in fact, this unique dish has become synonymous with taste and success. Especially if you choose to use ready-made puff pastry.
Ricotta and spinach savory pie, the origins
Today the ricotta and spinach savory pie is prepared at any time of the year. Originally, however, it was a dish linked above all to the Easter period, so much so that it was called Torta Pasqualina.
The basic ingredients are pretty much the same. The only difference is the way the eggs are inserted. In the ricotta and spinach pie, in fact, they are used raw to mix the vegetables and cheeses. In the Pasqualina version, on the other hand, they are inserted whole directly into the filling. In this way, when cut, they are perfectly visible inside as a sort of surprise.
Another different element compared to the rustic ricotta and spinach pie is the addition of a second circle of puff pastry to cover the filling. In this way, however, the total calorie intake and per person of the recipe increases.
One roll, in fact, corresponds to 1035 calories. Due to 2070. An important incidence in a recipe which, despite having a vegetable base, has a good supply of fat thanks to the presence of dairy products and aged cheeses.
Salt cake with Ricotta cheese and spinach
Ingredients
- 1 roll of puff pastry
- 500 grams of fresh spinach
- 150 grams of sheep ricotta
- 100 grams of Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- q.b. sale
Instructions
- First boil the spinach for a few minutes. The advice is not to let too much time pass. Considering the subsequent cooking in the oven, in fact, it is always good that the vegetables remain al dente. As for the type of spinach to use, then, remember that it is also possible to use frozen ones. In this case, however, we advise you to increase the doses from a minimum of 150 grams to a maximum of 200.
- Once cooked, drain and squeeze the spinach, taking care to eliminate all excess water. Otherwise, in fact, this would soften the puff pastry base too much, ruining the final friability.
- After removing the water, put the vegetables in a bowl. Here you also add the Parmigiano Reggiano, the ricotta and the two eggs. Mix everything well and season with salt, nutmeg or pepper. To give the recipe more personality, then, remember that the Parmesan can be replaced with grated pecorino or other mature cheeses with a more decisive taste.
- At this point the time has come to unroll a sheet of puff pastry to line a cake tin with a diameter of approximately 22 cm. I advise you to use a hinged model, which is simpler especially when it comes to taking out and serving the savory pie. Before pouring the filling, however, remember to prick the bottom with a simple fork. In this way, in fact, you will prevent the pasta from swelling during cooking.
- Once the spinach flavored with the other ingredients has been inserted, create a border with the excess puff pastry and brush it with lightly beaten egg yolk. In this way the surface will become golden and crunchy during cooking. At this point you just have to put everything in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20/30 minutes.
- Before serving the savory pie, let it cool for a few minutes. In this way the ingredients inside blend together again, enhancing the different flavours.
Ricotta and spinach savory pie, the light puff pastry
The ricotta and spinach savory pie is a recipe that has a good balance between mineral salts, proteins and fats. For this reason it can be introduced into a controlled and balanced diet, especially if consumed as a single dish.
Despite this, however, it is possible to make it lighter by making a light homemade puff pastry. The procedure is identical to the traditional one. The only essential variation is the replacement of the butter with 70 grams of natural white yogurt.
In this way it is still possible to obtain a puff pastry that is easy to roll out and use, provided that the rest times of at least 30 minutes are always respected between one folding and the other to make the block from which to take the necessary portion. If, on the other hand, you love more practical and quicker solutions, it is easy to find sheets of ready-made light puff pastry in supermarkets.
Ricotta and spinach savory pie, a variant for those who are lactose intolerant
The ricotta and spinach cake could be a great pitfall for those who are lactose intolerant. To get around this problem, however, there is a rather simple solution. According to many variations of the recipe, in fact, it is possible to replace the presence of Parmesan and ricotta with a larger dose of eggs.
In this case, in fact, it is advisable to use 5 of them to be added, once beaten, to the spinach left to cool. In this way we resort to a food which, in any case performing an aggregating function, also decreases the caloric intake. On average, in fact, 5 eggs correspond to 390 calories, while Parmesan and sheep’s milk ricotta together equal 609.
Ricotta and spinach cake, how and for how long to keep it
Versatile and easy to make, the ricotta and spinach savory pie can also be prepared a day ahead. In this case, we advise you to let it cool before covering it with aluminum foil and placing it in the refrigerator.
If, on the other hand, it is left over at the end of a lunch or dinner, it is preferable to keep it in an airtight container. Remember, however, that it must be consumed no later than 48 hours. The ricotta and spinach cake, however, can also be frozen.
We advise you to use special freezer bags and always write down the date of freezing. To consume it, then, just leave it outside for 20/30 minutes and put it to heat in the oven. Instead, avoid the microwave which could ruin the fragrance of the puff pastry.
The ricotta and spinach savory pie as part of the diet
How to include the consumption of a ricotta and spinach savory pie within a balanced food education? The question is simple if used as a single dish. The dough, in fact, provides carbohydrates, the cheeses and fatty dairy products while the vegetables the right amount of mineral salts.
Furthermore, the ricotta and spinach savory pie can also be considered as the carbohydrate portion of the meal. A roll of puff pastry weighing 230 g, in fact, is equivalent to 558 calories and 46 g of carbohydrates. A rather small amount that allows you to easily consume even two slices.
Nutritional properties
As mentioned, ricotta and spinach cake is a recipe with well-balanced nutritional properties. The two essential elements, however, are represented by spinach and the use of dairy products and cheeses.
In the former, in fact, we find the presence of magnesium, potassium and vitamin C in significant quantities. Let’s see more specifically how the nutritional table of 100 g of spinach is made up.
Mineral salts
- Sodium: 79 mg..
- Potassium: 558 mg..
- Vitamin C: 28 mg..
- Ferro: 2,7 mg..
- Magnesio: 79 mg..
- Calcium: 99 mg..
Ricotta, on the other hand, provides a good amount of protein, fat and minerals. Taking into consideration 100 g of vaccine product, i.e. cow, we find:
Grassi
- Lipids: 10.90 g.
- Saturated fat: 6.82 g.
- Monounsaturated fat: 0.39 g.
- Polyunsaturated fats: 0.31 g.
Mineral salts
- Vitamina A: 128 mg.
- Calcium: 295 mg.
- Phosphorus: 237 mg.
- Potassium: 119 mg.
- Sodium: 78mg.
- Magnesio: 17 mg.
Remember that cow ricotta can be easily replaced with sheep’s ricotta. In this case, however, the nutritional values vary. Dairy products made with goat whey, in fact, have a higher fat content. In 100 g of food there are 11.50 g of lipids, of which 7.36 g are saturated and 2.50 g are monounsaturated.
