Recipe of the week: the Ligurian #greenpie

The green pie is a typical Ligurian recipe, perfect for the spring, and ideal to share with friends and family during a picnic in the centres or outskirts of one of the colourful towns in the Italian Riviera.  [Click here for a list of places]

This savoury dish is also called rice pie, since raw rice is one of its main ingredients (don’t worry, the rice cooks with the pie!).

The green pie is made with fresh vegetables, such as courgettes or, more often, artichokes. When it is made of courgettes, a particular kind is used: it is called zucchina trombetta (trumpet courgette) because of its shape.

This recipe can be adapted to the season, by changing the vegetable that will be the filling of the pie.

Here is our suggested recipe for a delicious Ligurian green pie with Albenga or Perinaldo artichokes.

Ingredients (serve 6 people)

6 Albenga or Perinaldo artichokes

a bunch of chard

6 eggs

3 onions

3 handful of rice

2 puff pastry sheets

Parmigiano or Grana cheese

parsley

extra-virgin olive oil

black pepper

salt

Method

Peel the artichokes and chop them finely. Cook them in boiling water, adding lemon juice to avoid them from getting brown.

Wash the chard and peel the onion. Chop both finely.

In a large pan, fry the onion. Then add the artichokes and the chard. Cook at medium heat for few minutes. Then add the rice and keep cooking for more few minutes.

Let the mixture cool down. Then add the cheese, the eggs (beaten), salt and black pepper. Stir to combine all the ingredients.

Put one of the puff pastry sheets on a cake pan, then add the mixture of vegetable and rice, and cover with the other sheet.

Brush the top of the pie with egg yolk and use a fork to make some holes on the sheet.

Cook in oven at 200°C for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy lukewarm or cold with a glass of good wine. We suggest Rossese DOC “Riviera Ligure di Ponente”.