Food is the Most Powerful Connection
Slightly belated Easter traditions, current faves & saffron tea :)
If you’re Italian, or are very close to an Italian family during Easter time, it’s more than likely you are familiar with what’s photographed above ! Pizzagaina, Easter Pie, Pizza Rustica…..all various names for the same amazing cheese-and-meat concoction. My Grandma would always make this every year and the taste reminds me SO much of her and my favorite time of the year. This recipe is a bit intricate but so worth it ! A lot of chopping involved, and a lot of meat to slice however I hope you give it a try !
PIZZAGAINA
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
3 tbsp shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup ice cold water
Filling:
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
1/2 lb pepperoni, diced
4 oz salami, diced
3/4 lb fresh ground sausage meat (browned lightly in 1 tbsp water)
2 oz ham, chopped
1/4 lb prosciutto, chopped
8 oz mozzarella, diced
1 tbsp grated romano cheese
1 lb fresh ricotta cheese
2 eggs
dash of salt
Steps:
Sift dry ingredients together. Blend shortening into sifted flour with fork. Mix egg with cold water. Add to flour and mix until a ball is formed. Refrigerate.
Combine ricotta, salt, and grated romano cheese. Add two eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition with a wooden spoon. Add cooked sausage meat, prosciutto, ham, mozzarella, pepperoni, Salame, and diced boiled eggs. Blend and mix well.
Prep pastry: roll out and line 10” deep pie pan with pastry. Prick dough with fork, sprinkle bottom with a little flour. Pour mixture into lined pie pan and cover with top pie crust; trim, leaving about 1/2” over-hang. Fold dough under and back to flute thickly. Cut slits into pie to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle top of crust with water before putting in oven.
Bake in preheated hot 400 degree F oven, for first 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 degrees F, and bake 45 minutes more. For a brown golden top crust: brush beaten egg on several minutes before taking pie out of oven. Remove, let stand 5 mins, can be served hot or cold ! You can eat this right away however I recommend waiting until it’s cool, put in fridge overnight, and eat the next day. It’s how you’re technically supposed to do it when you make it on Good Friday and eat it on easter Sunday, and it tastes infinitely better in my opinion. :)
Saffron Tea:
My most recent favorite beverage to sip on lately is saffron tea ! Sometimes scrolling endlessly through social media does pay off ?! I somehow ended up on an herbalists’ page, where I learned the power of saffron. I was honestly shocked that I had never heard of how beneficial saffron truly can be for you ! After doing some research, I had to try it for myself. The taste isn’t nearly as strong or bitter as I thought it’d be. I enjoyed it hot with a touch of honey for sweetness, and the taste for me was comparable to green tea.
After reading a few articles that described how saffron can help you (and it truly is a long list) I dug around the back of my herb cabinet to find not only one, but two small bottles of the red, hair-like spice I had bought about a year prior. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, sometimes even being referred to as “red gold”, it takes thousands of flowers to make up just a jar of the stuff ! The list of benefits is substantial, however I’ve listed a few below:*
Possible Benefits of Saffron:
high anti-inflammatory & antioxidant effects
improves heart health
improves insomnia
reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety
enhance libido
improve memory
improve eye health
aid weight loss
may have cancer fighting properties
reduce PMS symptoms
lower blood sugar levels
support healthy skin
* of course i’m no doctor, this is just what I found when researching online ! consume in appropriate amounts and consult your doctor to see if it would be good for you.
Saffron Tea Recipe:
Serves 1| Ingredients:
5-6 strands saffron
1 ice cube
1 cup filtered hot/cold water
1 tbsp honey
Steps:
Using a mortar and pestle, grind up the few saffron strands. Alternatively, you can crush it with the back of a spoon. Add ice cube to the crushed saffron, and let it melt. This allows the saffron to ‘bloom’, basically enhancing the taste, color and aroma of the saffron.
Once cube melts, add bloomed saffron liquid to a small mug. Add hot water and honey to mug, stir and enjoy !
This is a delicious way to enjoy saffron, and I do feel like when I drink this, I have such a nice solid rest. I made it for my Aunt as well one day and she also felt like she had a better nights sleep !
Current Faves <3:
As I mentioned above, i’ve been using this little guy to make my saffron tea ! Ive owned my personal m & p for several years now. I got it from an adorable hole-in-the-wall crystal shop, and girl I even had a coupon ! I found one that seems to be very close to the one I own on amazon, which I linked above. This comes in handy for a variety of tasks in the kitchen, spice grinding is probably what I use mine the most for. If you’re unfamiliar, there is truly nothing better than the taste of freshly ground black peppercorns ! Once you start grinding your own pepper, the typical pre-ground stuff just won’t taste the same.
Hint of Honey Almond Breeze Almond Milk
Photo by Sandi Benedicta on Unsplash This one is super random but I am a fan of almond milk and on a recent trip to the grocery store I discovered a ‘hint of honey’ almond milk from Almond Breeze….delish !! It has a nice vanilla flavor with the honey sweetness, a new fave of mine for drinks and iced lattes. It has a lighter, more refreshing taste than regular milk which is nice at times especially in the spring/summer !
Photo by Jocelyn Morales on Unsplash I LOVE me some pickled ginger ! It’s delicious, and good for you… a match made in heaven ! Ginger is so good for your immune system, and when it’s pickled it’s high in microbes which aids in gut health. I always like to have a jar of pickled ginger on hand, but especially in the warmer weather I love to eat pickled ginger in burrito bowls, with ramen, in wraps, on salads and basically on anything my little heart desires ! I typically get it from the asian grocery store, but if you want to make it yourself I'll leave the recipe below !
Homemade Pickled Ginger:
1.5 Cups|Ingredients:
8 oz fresh ginger root, peeled
1.5 tsp sea salt
1 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
Steps:
Cut ginger into pieces. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and stir. Set aside for half an hour or so. Transfer ginger to clean jar.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and vinegar until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then pour over ginger pieces.
Allow mix to cool, then seal jar and store in fridge at least 1 week. Slice thin to serve and enjoy !
That is all I have for this blogpost, I hope you guys enjoyed and learned something from this ! Please feel free to leave feedback/questions you may have, and have an amazing weekend !
-Little Chef Tay xx
It's great either hot or cold! 👍🏾🥰