Erbazzone - Savoury Green Pie

This beautiful pie originates from the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy (whose capital is Bologna) where it’s normally eaten as a street food. This kind of pie is typical of ‘cucina povera’ (which literally means “cooking of the poor”) defined by simple, humble ingredients.

My pie is made with a mixture of spring greens, spinach, spring onions & grano padano cheese encased in a light, thin & crispy pastry which I made with olive oil.

I decided to flavour my pastry with chopped rosemary, but it only needs a small amount! It really adds a lovely, herby note.

Overall this is delicious, scrummy pie that is just perfect as a snack or light lunch in the summer months.

Mangia, mangia! 👩🏻‍🍳

Erbazzone recipe:

Pastry:

250g plain flour
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
100ml water

Filling:

200g spring greens
200g spinach
2 spring onions
50g grano padano/parmesan (grated)
Salt & pepper

Extra virgin olive oil for brushing the top

1. Make the pastry first - In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, rosemary and olive oil then slowly add the water bit by bit until it comes together in a dough. The trick is to only add enough water as you don’t want the dough to be sticky. Knead in the bowl for a few minutes only until smooth, then cover in cling film and rest in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes.

2. Wash the spring greens and spinach thoroughly, drain and then chop. Finely chop the spring onions then sauté lightly in a large pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

3. Add the spring greens and spinach into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on. Let the mixture cool in a large bowl before adding the salt, pepper and the grated cheese. Mix well together and taste to ensure you are happy with the seasoning as now is the time to adjust if necessary.

4. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. I used a 21cm sandwich tin to cook my pie in. Cut a circle of greaseproof paper large enough to cover the tin and it’s sides. Fit it in the tin and brush lightly with oil.

5. Take the pastry out of the fridge and cut in half. On a floured surface roll each piece into a circle. Note - I used a 26cm plate as a guide to ensure it fitted the tin.

6. Lay the first circle in the tin as per my picture below.

7. Spread the mixture on top then cover with the second circle of dough. Pinch the edges of the dough together, then brush the pie with olive oil before pricking the surface all over with a fork.

8. Bake the pie in the oven for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden. Take out of the oven and let it cool slightly before cutting into slices.