Pascualina is a savory pie from Uruguay prepared with spinach and eggs. “Pascua” translates as Easter, thus this pie is usually eaten during the holy week or “semana santa”. As many Uruguayans have Italian ancestry, many Italian dishes were adapted to what was available in Uruguay. In Italy pascualina is normally prepared with ricotta and Parmesan cheese, however, Uruguayans like to infuse flavor with bacon and additional veggies such as bell peppers. Other dishes include milanesa, cutlets, which already tell you the origin. Another is the quince tart named pasta frola, which is very popular in Uruguay.
But let’s get back to pascualina, a savory pie or tart. It is prepared the traditional way you would prepare a savory pie. You first prepare the pie dough (this one is with oil and cornstarch), then you will fry the filling, place dough and filling in a pie form and bake until it is golden. If you are into savory pies, how about American chicken pot pie. Yes, this pie will take time to prepare, there is no doubt about that. You will need to make the pie dough, then you have to prepare the filling and on top of that you will have to bake the pie for a pretty long time. However, the upside is that you can prepare dough and filling a few days in advance. If kept in an airtight container, pascualina will also taste chilled. So maybe I can interest you in baking this Uruguayan pascualina?
Credit: Slightly adapted from the cookbook Nuestras recetas des siempre, page 152 (in Spanisch and Englisch)
Pascualina, a savory pie with spinach and egg is traditionally served for Easter and can easily be made a few days in advance. You can see how I make the pascualina in this video. For the dough combine all ingredients and about 60 grams of water. Knead either by hand or with a machine for a few minutes. Add water by the spoonful until you have a soft dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl. Let rest for at least half an hour or chill overnight in an airtight container. For the filling peel and cube the onion, peel and thinnly cut the garlic, cube the bell pepper. Fry a bit of oil in a frying pan and simmer the onion on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and bell pepper, simmer for another few minutes. Add the spinach and simmer until unfrozen. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin to your liking. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cut the dough in half, transfer one half back to the fridge and roll out the other on a slightly floured surface to a circle. Line the bottom of a pie or tart form (mine was 23cm in diameter) with the dough. When the filling has cooled off, stir in bread crumbs and cheese. Pour this mixture into the prepared pan. Roll out the second half of the dough into a circle. Using the back of a tablespoon, create holes into the filling so that you can crack an egg into each. I had five eggs, four more towards the outside and one in the center. Carefully crack into the holes. Then place the rolled-out dough on top. I did the traditional crimping for pie, how you do that, you can see here, but you can also seal the top by using a fork. Make sure to cut some vents into the middle of the top so that air can evaporate. Bake the pascualina for about 35-40min, then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with some dried herbs, I used basil. Bake for an additional 15min or until golden. Serve either hot or cold.Pascualina, a Pie with Spinach and Egg from Uruguay
Ingredients
Instructions
3 Comments
Das Mädel vom Land
Monday March 20th, 2023 at 10:12 PMSeeeehr verlockend … Statt Spinat gehen bestimmt auch Brennnesseln, oder? Oder eine Mischung aus beidem … Ich träum schon wieder vor mich hin 😉
Alles Liebe!
Maria
Lisa
Monday April 1st, 2024 at 11:00 AMSehr lecker! Hatte ich gestern fürs Osterfrühstück gebacken und meine Mama wollte gleich das Rezept haben 🙂
Jenny
Monday April 1st, 2024 at 11:01 AMAh, das freut mich total, wie schön!