Ingredients
Pastry Dough
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3 ½ cups flour
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¾ cups cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
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¼ cup vegetable shortening
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1 teaspoon salt
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3 eggs, whisked
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2-4 tablespoons ice water
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1 egg white (use the yolk in the filling below)
Filling
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300g Italian sausage
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300g frozen chopped spinach, thawed
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454g Ricotta
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2 cups grated mozzarella
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½ cup parmesan cheese
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100g prosciutto, diced
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½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
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1 teaspoon pepper
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3 eggs + 1 egg yolk, lightly whisked
Directions
- Add the flour, butter, vegetable shortening and salt to a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the eggs and blend until combined, about 10 seconds. With the food processor running, stream in a tablespoon of cold water at a time until the dough comes together.
- Remove the dough from the machine and gather it together in one large ball. If the dough seems too sticky add a little flour. Divide the ball into two pieces with one being twice as big as the other. Flatten each ball into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the sausage from the casing. Add the sausage to a skillet and cook, breaking apart into small pieces until well browned. Transfer the sausage to a mixing bowl to cool.
- Squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach as possible. Break the spinach up into the bowl with the sausage.
- Add the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pepper and eggs to the sausage and spinach and stir well to combine.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Dust the work surface with flour. Remove the larger disc of dough from the plastic. Roll the dough out, flouring as needed until it is about 16-17 - inches round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch springform pan. Work it down gently to line the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the dough overhang to about ½-inch.
- Add the ricotta mixture to the dough lined pan.
- Roll the second piece of dough out into a 11-12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges of the dough together to seal and then roll it down into the pan to create a crust around the edges.
- Whisk the egg white with about 1 teaspoon of water and brush it over the top of the pastry. Cut a small x in the top of the pastry.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until well brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
