Giada De Laurentiis' Cheesy Pizza Rustica Is a Savory Italian Easter Tradition

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As much as we love Easter candy, we have to admit that our favorite part of the holiday has less to do with what’s inside the plastic Easter eggs and more to do with what we can make out of the dozens of actual eggs we purchased to decorate for the holiday. Deviled eggs are always a favorite, and there are about a million different ways to jazz them up, but if you’re looking for another option, Giada De Laurentiis has the answer. She just shared her recipe for pizza rustica, also known as Italian Easter pie, and it’s a cheesy dish that calls for about 5 eggs, which will help you use up those leftover Easter eggs.

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According to De Laurentiis, this southern Italian dish is a traditional Easter favorite, and it can even be made ahead of time, so you don’t have to be stuck in the kitchen all day on Easter.

It’s also pretty versatile. “While you need the eggs and cheese to sort of hold everything together,” says De Laurentiis, you can switch up pretty much all of the other ingredients, adding in your favorite veggies, herbs, seasonings, and proteins.

Courtesy of Clarkson Potter.

The crust has a crunchy bite, thanks to the addition of cornmeal, which helps it stand up to the hearty filling. It’s a real doozy of pure comfort, featuring Italian sausage, spinach, Calabrian chili paste, three kinds of cheese, prosciutto, and egg yolks. It’s a great meal for feeding a crowd, because you only need a small slice to fill up.

The pizza rustica is made in a springform pan, which allows you to press the crust up high against the sides of the pan, so it holds more of the rich and cheesy filling. When it’s done cooking and has cooled for a few minutes, you can pull away the side of the springform pan to reveal the beautifully golden, crunchy crust below.

Courtesy of Nordic Ware.

If you prefer savory to sweet, then this is one Easter treat you can finally look forward to. Hold the jellybeans — you’ve got a cheesy Italian sensation to feast on instead.