Week 16: Italian Easter Pie and Finding Religion

I don’t recall going to church before the age of 12. Then suddenly, my mom found religion and we started going to an Episcopal church that was part of the born-again movement of the 70’s.
The first time I attended, I was dressed in my red and white Cowboy cheer uniform, because there was a game after the service. There I was with the congregation surrounding me with raised hands, speaking in tongues and jumping up and down to a song about a kangaroo who loved Jesus! Admittedly, my recollection could be a little skewed, but it was pretty overwhelming. And the speaking in tongues part… freaked me the f–k out.

As it turns out, my mom taking me to Saint Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal church was one of the best things that happened to me.

I realize now that she made that decision at a time when she just couldn’t handle my sister Kim and I (The two sisters remaining at home) alone any longer, and needed support. Kim was making poor choices all across the board and the two of them were fighting non-stop.
Being only twelve,  I was still a pretty good kid who cared about school, and not yet that into boys etc. I think though, she was worried that I would take a wrong turn like Kim.
The decision to be vulnerable enough to ask for help took so much courage and it truly did change my course.

I became very active in the church and The Rhode Island Episcopal Diocese community for over six years.
Saint Peter’s was the first place I sang a solo and discovered that for me, singing was a deeply spiritual experience. They purchased my first guitar and a group of patient and kind adults taught me how to play and lead music. At only 15, I became an integral part of their “worship team”. Together, mom and I became very active in Cursillo, an international spiritual retreat organization. I joined the teen version, named Happening, where I learned even more about leadership, met lots of friends, and had way more boyfriends than any “good Christian girl” should have.

When poverty, my mother’s depression, and other issues became more than I could handle, I left home at 16 and moved in with a friend and her family. A year or so later, the church rallied and provided my mother and I a safe comfortable place to live so that we could reconcile… and it worked.

My spiritual path has taken lots of twists and turns since I left Saint Peter’s 36 years ago, but I am confident that my mother’s decision to take me to Church at 12 years old truly saved my life.
They say  “it takes a village to raise a child”, and in this case, it took a church community.
I was welcomed, seen and valued. The open community at this particular church provided many healthy adult role models, guidance, support, and deep friendships.

I am eternally grateful for my mother’s courage to be vulnerable and seek help.
Happy Easter Mom!

Original Recipe
Pizza Gana or Italian Easter Pie

Pizza Gana, also called Italian Easter Pie, is a traditional Italian Catholic recipe made the day before Easter and served at around noon to break the Lenten fast. Nothing says Lent is over like 2 pounds of meat and a pound of cheese!
I have no clue why my mom started serving this dish on Easter, she was neither Italian or Catholic, but in my early teens she started entertaining large groups of people from church and would make two large casserole-sized Pizza Gana (she did not call it Easter pie) for brunch.

Converting a recipe that calls for 2 pounds of Italian meat into a vegetarian dish was a ridiculous undertaking, but Alex and Jenny, who are vegetarian, were coming for Easter dinner and I wanted to make something traditional. … So why not give it a shot?

The process:
There was no way the flavor profile would work if I didn’t get some kind of sausage flavored meat substitute. While this recipe calls for ham and pepperoni, Italian Seitan was a perfect solution. It had the saltiness of the ham and the Italian spices of the pepperoni, and it did the trick. I also added fennel oil to the spinach and mushroom for Italian sausage flavor.

One of the biggest challenges I had with this recipe was figuring out what “fresh basket cheese” was and where to find it. My grocery store didn’t have anything called basket cheese and I didn’t want to spend a fortune at a cheese shop, which is probably what my mother did.
With a little research, I figured out Ricotta Cheese was the way to go.
I added the provolone cheese for layering, and the red pepper would add a little color.

NOTE – I halved the recipe of my mother’s for the filling, but I actually used the same amount of crust.

The result:
This recipe was a huge success!
The crust held up, The filling wasn’t soupy and the flavor was delicious. I’ll likely make this again with the meat because when I told Rick the recipe called for 2 pounds of Italian meat and I wasn’t using it, the look on his face was a little pathetic.

Vegetarian Easter Pie or Pizza Gana

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 teaspoon baking powder
Half a stick of butter, melted
2 1/2 cups of flour

Mix ingredients and knead.
Divide the dough in two.
Roll out one ball for the bottom.
Grease the pie pan or line it with parchment paper.
Place the rolled-out dough into the bottom of the pie plate with your piecrust firm the edges.
Cover the other roll of dough with parchment or plastic wrap and set aside.

 

Easter Pie Filling:
10 Eggs
3-6 oz Italian Seitan
1/2 lb Fresh basket cheese or Ricotta
1/4 lb Provolone cheese
2-3 Cups Organic greens such as baby spinach, baby chard, kale and mustard greens,… I used a pre-packaged blend
1/2 Red pepper thinly sliced
1 Cup Sliced mushrooms
Garlic
Italian seasoning
Fennel, fresh, dried or oil. I used a food grade essential oil
Italian Sausage Seitan (wheat gluten)

The photo shows mascarpone cheese. I ended up not using it and instead used it to fill strawberries!

Directions:

Sauté the red peppers and set aside.

Sauté the garlic, mushrooms, and greens together. Add fresh or dried fennel (I use food grade fennel oil) for a sausage flavor.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and set a small amount aside to brush on top of the pie before baking.

Mix the ricotta cheese in with the eggs and mix until creamy.
Add the sautéed greens, mushrooms and Seitan. Stir.

Pour some of the filling into the pie pan.
Layer red peppers and provolone cheese pour the remaining filling on top.

Roll the top piecrust and place it on top. Pinch the edges to seal. Brush with egg and slice holes in the top. If you look on the Internet, you’ll see many Easter pies decorated with a cross made out of dough, which is what my mom did.

Bake in a 350 oven for approximately an hour and a half.
The crust should be a golden brown. The only way to truly know that your eggs are cooked is with a thermometer….
Temperature reading should be no less than 165 and no more than 180 degrees.

Let the pie sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. It can be refrigerated several days before serving using a microwave to reheat or serve cold.

Week 17 Recipe Pick
Crazy Cake

My birthday is tomorrow, so I thought I’d celebrate by making the very first cake I ever baked. I will likely not adapt the recipe much. For my birthday, I’ll splurge!

See you next week!

Tags: easter, eggs, from the heart, healthier recipe, holidays, italian