Olive Garden Pizza Rustica Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, butter, and olive oil for the crust in a large bowl. Blend butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, pour egg into the well, and mix with a fork until egg is mixed in, about 1 minute. Add cold water and mix briefly with a fork. Switch to mixing with your hands and press mixture into a ball. If it seems dry, sprinkle in some more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough comes together.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and press into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, combine drained ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, black pepper, beaten eggs, cooked Italian sausage, smoked ham, salami, and pepperoni for the filling. Mix thoroughly until extremely well combined; don't worry about overmixing. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Rub a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and dust with flour.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and set aside for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the bottom crust, using only as much flour as needed, into a 15-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared pan. Tuck the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, being careful not to stretch it. Remove any excess dough, dampen it with water, and use it to fill in where needed.
• Transfer filling into the pan, press firmly into the edges to ensure there are no air pockets, and smooth out the top.
• Roll remaining dough into a circle that's slightly wider than the pan. Roll dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the pan. Position the top crust properly and press to seal it with the side edges.
• Mix egg and water for egg wash together in a small bowl.
• Brush egg wash on top of dough to moisten entire surface. Trim off excess dough if desired. Fold the side dough down from the pan edges onto the top crust and crimp edges with your fingertips until fully sealed. Brush once more with egg wash.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until top crust is a beautiful golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the ring and let cool another 15 minutes before slicing into wedges.

PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Position the rack on the bottom of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausages and saute until golden brown, breaking the sausage into pieces, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts and the juices evaporate, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Squeeze the spinach to drain as much liquid as possible.
• Into a large bowl, add egg yolks and beat lightly. Stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Add the sausage, the spinach and prosciutto to the mixture and stir to combine.
• Roll out larger piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 17-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch springform pan. Trim the dough overhang to 1 inch. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dough-lined pan. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges of the doughs together to seal, then crimp the dough edges decoratively. Brush the beaten 1 large egg over the entire pastry top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the top. Bake on the bottom shelf until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour.
• Let stand 15 minutes. Release the pan sides and transfer the pizza to a platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
• Blend the flour, the butter, the shortening and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in the eggs. With the machine running, add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, with 1 piece twice as large as the second piece. Flatten the dough pieces into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes.

OLIVE GARDEN PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Place garlic cloves in a small pan. Add 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and evenly coat each clove. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
• Place fresh mozzarella slices on each pizza crust. Add sliced eggplant and roasted garlic cloves. Bake at 375F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until toppings are hot and cheese has melted.
• Remove from oven and add prosciutto slices. Top with spoonfuls of pesto. Cut each pizza into 6 slices. Serve immediately.

PIZZA RUSTICA (A SICILIAN SAUSAGE AND PROSCIUTTO PIE)

Steps:

• Place a piece of cheesecloth into a strainer, and place the ricotta cheese into the cheesecloth. Set a bowl underneath the strainer to catch drips, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight, to allow moisture to drip from ricotta.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place sausage into a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease, and allow sausage to cool.
• Place the drained ricotta cheese into a large bowl, and stir in 5 beaten eggs and mozzarella cheese until well mixed. Mix in the cooked sausage, Parmesan cheese, parsley, prosciutto, and black pepper until thoroughly combined.
• Divide the pizza dough into fourths, and roll out 2 of the pieces into 12-inch circles. Fit the circles into 2 10-inch pie plates, leaving 1 inch of dough hanging over the edge. Divide the filling between the 2 pies. Roll out 2 top crusts, place onto the pies, and fold the edges of the bottom crusts over the edges of the top crusts to seal. Crimp and flute the edges of the pie crusts.
• Beat 1 egg with water in a small bowl, and brush the egg wash over the tops and edges of both pies. Cut several slits into the top crusts to vent steam.
• Bake pies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Continue to bake until the crust is browned and the filling is hot, 45 to 50 more minutes. Serve at room temperature.

PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Over medium high heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add spinach, and cook until there is no more moisture.
• Mix together Ricotta cheese, egg, and egg yolks.
• Mix in the spinach mixture.
• Add ham, turkey, mushrooms, Parmesan, and herbs and spices.
• Place one pie crust flat on a pizza pan or large baking sheet.
• Carefully pile the Ricotta mixture in the middle, making sure to leave about 2 inches of crust around the outside.
• Paint the edge of the crust with some water, the place the second pie crust on top.
• Seal edges, fold and crimp.
• Cut steam vents, paint the entire top with the egg wash.
• Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then decrease temperature to 400 and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
• Let rest for a few minutes before serving.