Pizza Chiena is eaten chilled or at room temperature. Small slices are often served as appetizers, since it is a very rich pie. (courtesy of Mark Chilla)
Mark and Gae Chilla generously shared this recipe with Earth Eats. It comes from Gae's cousin, MaryLou, with some variations from Gae.
Chiena is old Neopolitan dialect for the word Piena, which means stuffed. Pizza Chiena is also known as Pizza Rustica in some regions of Italy.
Crust (make this first):
3 cups of flour
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of water
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small pieces (OR ¼ cup of olive oil) (either works fine) (my mom and aunts and cousin used to use melted Crisco instead of butter or olive oil)
Mix all of the above; separate into 2 balls, one a little smaller than the other. Roll out each for a top and bottom crust. Don’t make it too thin.
Filling:
Use about 16 ounces of meat total:
I typically use ¼ lb each of boiled ham, genoa salami, prosciutto, and pepperoni.
(But you could also use dry sausage, capicola, or vary the amounts of the meats per your taste.)
4 eggs
1 lb ricotta
½ lb fresh mozzarella (if you live in an area where there are Italian stores and you can purchase something called “basket cheese”, use this instead of mozzarella. If not, use fresh mozzarella)
About a tablespoon of grated cheese (pecorino romano or parmigiano)
Ground pepper
Take the skin off the dry sausage and pepperoni if using these meats.
Dice all the meats and mozzarella cheese into small pieces.
Put the meats and mozzarella cheese into a large bowl.
Stir in ricotta and grated cheese and some ground pepper.
Beat 4 eggs in a separate bowl.
Add the beaten eggs to the large bowl, (Note: You may need an additional egg if the mixture feels too thick to stir.)
To Assemble:
Put the bottom crust into a spring form pan (or 10x6 pyrex pan), covering bottom and sides.
Add meat and cheese mixture to the pan, don’t pack it tightly.
Place top crust over it and seal all sides. Poke a few fork holes over the top.
You can also use some of the extra dough to decorate the center of the top crust with a cross or other design.
Brush the top crust with 1-2 beaten egg yolks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ¼ hour, until golden.
It has a tendency to spill, so put foil underneath the pan to prevent drips from smoking.
Let cool. Store in refrigerator.
When ready to serve, remove from spring form pan, and serve cold or at room temperature. I like to cut it into small appetizer size pieces.
Enjoy!
