Italian Easter Pie

Easter, for me, has always been kielbasi, hard boiled eggs, ham, horseradish, and seeded rye bread but some times I wish I was born Italian because those folks make a thing called Easter pie made with meats, cheeses, and eggs surrounded by a soft pie crust. The first time I had Easter pie it left such a culinary memory I found myself jonesing for it every year about this time.

This year I decided to do something about it.

I casually asked friends and strangers if they knew about Easter pie, and if they did I'd hit them up for a recipe. All those who had a recipe said they'd get it to me but time was running out and the last thing I wanted to do was find a way to make this online.
Maybe it's me but I found the majority of those online recipe places have a lot of stuff that just doesn't quite cut it for me. Most of the time it's standard recipes with a few odd abhorations like macaroni and cheese with diced carrots and salsa, or borscht with a cup of vodka and cilantro. What I wanted was a basic recipe that I can alter instead of someone else.

Yesterday, I not only received two completely different recipes for Easter pie but one of these people brought me in a slice to see what it's supposed to look and taste like.
Monica, the one who brought in the slice, gave me her original recipe card, complete with gravy stains. Lori compiled a four page report including a formula for paska bread.

Alright! Now I have something to work with.

Anyone who knows me can tell you I'll follow a recipe for only so long before I have to change things around. For example, instead of sweet Italian sausage I substituted hot, and where it suggested mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese I just had to add sharp provolone. I also added capicola along with the ham and prosciutto. I considered tossing in some kielbasi but quickly perished that thought. I mean, this is supposed to be Italian Easter Pie, not Italian Slovak Easter Pie, right?

I did a few other things I was told I shouldn't do, like using a corningware bowl instead of a pie pan, but I was remarkably surprised with the result. At first, I thought the hot Italian sausage might overpower it but the cheeses did their work and managed to impart this delightful even heat exchange with a rich flavor of old world Italian spice.

I promised I'd save Monica a slice. It seems that may be the most difficult part of this whole project.


I didn't want to clog this up with a bunch of pictures in a how-to format, but if you want the details, shoot me an email and I'll be glad to send you the instructions, complete with pictures and commentary.