Erbazzone pie (swiss chard pie)
Erbazzone pie is a culinary gem hailing from Reggio Emilia and the cucina povera of Emilia-Romagna, making it a must-try for any Italian cuisine enthusiast.
Servings 6 servings
Equipment
- 1 rectangular mold 30x25cm
Ingredients
Filling
- 1,5 kg of Swiss chard or spinach
- olive oil to grease the pan
- 100 g of spring onion or leek or onion
- 5 g of parsley
- 150 g of sweet bacon (pancetta) or lardo di Colonnata
- 100 g of grated Parmigiano
- 1 clove of garlic even if I don't use it
- salt and olive oil to taste
Dough
- 300 g of 00 flour
- 3 g of salt
- 30 g of lard or 50 g butter or olive oil
- 200 ml of lukewarm water
Instructions
Filling
- Rinse and boil the chard in unsalted boiling water for about 10 minutes (if using a frozen product, cook it directly in water without defrosting). Drain, run under cold water, and squeeze with your hands to dry them. Then, roughly chop and keep aside.
- Chop the pancetta or lardo di Colonnata, the parsley, and the spring onion separately with a knife. Set aside 50 g of pancetta.
- Sauté the chopped parsley and spring onion gently for a few minutes in a pan with a bit of olive oil before adding 100 g of pancetta (if using garlic, warm the oil with one clove and remove it from the pan before adding parsley and spring onion).
- Add herbs as well, allow to flavor for a few minutes while stirring, remove from heat, let cool, then incorporate Parmigiano, adjust salt, and mix well.
Dough
- Place the flour on a cutting board, make a well in the center, sprinkle the salt on the edges, and arrange the lard into the well.
- Pour in a little warm water and start kneading, adding all the water a little at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes under a bowl at room temperature.
- Roll out the dough with a small rolling pin. When it expands, slide the rolling pin from the center outward. Turn the dough 45 degrees every two to three strokes of the rolling pin. When it is wide and thin enough, gently pull it with your hands to stretch it further and make it thin (about 3 mm). This dough is quite elastic, so don't be afraid to break it, and if it does, close the hole by matching the dough flaps together.
Erbazzone assembling
- Preheat oven to 180C degrees (356F).
- Arrange the base in a baking pan lined with baking paper. The edges have to stick out of the mold. Spread the filling evenly to a height of 1 to 2 cm.
- Cover the filling with the excess dough, creating folds. Enlarge the dough with your hands to cover the filling completely. Prick the surface with the tines of a fork. Brush with olive oil and spread chopped lardo di Colonnata/pancetta or a few flakes of lard over the surface.
Tip
- If, after adding the Parmigiano, the filling seems too watery, add a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs.