Ingredients for 5-6 people:800 g fresh spinach (or Swiss chard)400 g sheep’s milk ricotta50 g grated pecorino cheese (aged 12 months)50 ml whole milk4 eggs1 onion1 clove of garlic2 sprigs of marjoram
salt and pepper to taste Extra Virgin Olive Oil450 g flour (plus a handful for rolling out the dough)150 ml extra virgin olive oil (1) + 2 tbsp for the top of the pie120 g cold water1 tsp salt
(1)The classic version of this recipe has butter in the dough instead of olive oil: this is the Viallino version.
Put the sifted flour in a bowl with the water, olive oil and salt. cover it with a cotton tea cloth and leave it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Clean the spinach (or chard), wash it and chop it on a chopping board, then sweat it in a frying pan with a little olive oil, the crushed clove of garlic, the finely chopped onion and salt to taste. When it’s cooked, turn off the heat and leave to cool. Put the ricotta in a bowl with half of the grated pecorino, the milk, the spinach that has cooled down, and the marjoram leaves. Turn on the oven and set it at 180 °C. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into two pieces: 2/3 for the base, 1/3 for the “lid”. Roll out both pieces into thin round disks, one with a diameter 5-6 cm larger than the other.
Take a deep, 24 diameter cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper, place the larger disk of dough in it so that it “lines” the sides as well. Distribute the filling on top, create 4 recesses and break an egg into each one. Sprinkle with the remaining pecorino and some salt and pepper. Cover the pie with the smaller disk and seal the “lid” by folding over the excess dough all around the edge. Grease the top with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Prick the pie (the “lid”) with a fork and then cook, for approximately 40 minutes, in the preheated oven. Allow to cool for about half an hour before serving.