Make a Quiche Just Like an Italian Nonna
Every Italian nonna has a classic Italian dish in her back pocket to whip out for emergencies: that is the torta salata, or an Italian version of quiche. It is a versatile dish that is not only quick to whip up, but a great way to let your creativity shine. At it’s heart, it is a pie crust (or puff pastry crust if you want to be extra) filled with any combination of ingredients. Most times they are mixed with egg to form an Italian quiche like consistency, but even the egg can be optional.
So why is torta salata a staple on Italian tables? Because it is a quick and easy way to empty out a pantry or fridge of little odds and ends left over. Piece of cheese, cold cuts, vegetables, ricotta, mushrooms, what have you, just dump it in and bake. It also means they are great for last minute dinner plans… just grab what you have on hand and experiment. This way, too, you can tailor a torta salata for every taste… add more prosciutto, or more greens for vegetarians, or lots of eggs and cheese for a strata or quiche effect.
It is also versatile in how you serve it. Cut it up in small pieces for finger foods or leave it in big slices for a side dish or even the main dish. While many Italians would only eat a torta salata for lunch or dinner, it is also well within the American taste palate to enjoy it for breakfast as well, making it a great bake-ahead-and-reheat option for busy mornings. Needless to say torta salata is a great brunch recipe, on its own or complemented with other brunch foods. Lastly, it is common to see torta salata served both hot, cold, and room temperature. While delicious hot and straight out of the oven, serving it cold the next day adds different flavors and textures than when hot.
With its ability to adapt to any menu or style of cuisine, its capacity for personalization, and a buttery crust, it is no wonder that torta salata is a common dish found in Italian households. One savory and flavorful version comes directly from woman owned Vigna Petrussa in Friuli Venezia Giulia. This recipe is great for the autumn months as it makes use of a common fall and winter lettuce: radicchio. The northern parts of Italy are famous for radicchio with several IGP (Indication of a Geographically Protected product) types of radicchio only being grown in the region. That is why, in their video recipe, Vigna Petrussa used a type of radicchio known as rosa di gorizia, from the town of Gorizia not far from Vigna Petrussa. When paired with sumptuous brie, honey, and walnuts, this torta salata is an easy way to whip up a radicchio recipe for your table.
Try pairing Richenza with a savory torta salata at your next dinner.
What Wine to Pair with Torta Salata?
A flavorful dish like this torta salata with radicchio, sweet honey and raisins, and creamy brie needs a complex wine to balance it when considering pairing wine with food. A white wine like Richenza from Vigna Petrussa is a great match. A blend of white grapes from the Northeast corner of Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia, this wine is complex and rich, thanks to undergoing oak aging, and a wine that oaked chardonnay lovers with want to try. This richness will complement nicely the sweet flavors, while the acidity will balance the brie for a delicious combination when pairing foods. Richenza is a great wine that thanks to its complexity can easy carry a meal from beginning to end… making it great to go with torta salata in all its versatility… no matter how or when you serve it!
Try this breakfast recipe casserole with some extra virgin olive oil. Vero imports organic extra virgin olive oils from small farms in Italy, like the Tuscan Aurinia and Caletra (which won best organic EVOO from Tuscany), Febo from Abruzzo, or Il Nostro Oro from Le Marche.
Buon Appetito!
Torta Salata di Radicchio e Brie - Radicchio and Brie Savory Pie
Cooking and Prep Time: 1 hour | Portions: 6-8 portions
Ingredients:
300 grams radicchio, washed and sliced
200 grams brie, sliced
8 walnuts, chopped
20 grams raisins, washed
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 9-inch pie crust, uncooked
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Il Nostro Oro, Febo, Aurinia, or Caletra)
Suggested Wine Pairings:
Vigna Petrussa Richenza Oak Aged White Wine Blend Biodynamic
Procedure:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the pie crust, grease and flour a pie pan, and lay the crust in, pricking with a fork and then pressing with fingers to avoid air bubbles and help it lie flat. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil with honey and balsamic vinegar in a skillet. Then add radicchio and stir until wilted. Lastly, add raisins and walnuts and stir until warmed through and walnuts are toasted.
3. Put radicchio mixture from skillet into the pie crust and top with the brie slices. Lay excess pie crust over the filling to create a border, or try crimping and pressing with a fork for a quick design.
4. Bake for 40 min or until pie crust is golden brown and cooked through. If the crust edges start to burn, cover with aluminum for the duration of cooking time.
5. Serve warm and enjoy with a glass of Richenza.
This recipe is courtesy of the winery Vigna Petrussa from Italy.
Need to Order Wine Online to Pair?
Crafted as a blend of native white varieties from Friuli, all 3, Friulano, Malvasia and Picolit are vinified separately in french oak barrels for 18 months before assemblage and then further aging in bottle for 6 months. This is an age-worthy, complex and intense white wine with aromas of chamomile, tangerine, mango and jasmine and exotic fruit taste, oily richness and long finish, as one would expect from this highly crafted white wine blend from Friuli.
Author Linda Milk’s tasting notes: “When we poured it into our glasses, the rich golden color made us think this would be a very flavorful white wine. We tasted lots of apricot and felt a velvety sensation on our tongue.”
Vigna Petrussa is a certified sustainable and biodiverse women-owned winery.
Pair Also with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
From the hills of Abruzzo near the Adriatic Coast of Italy, comes this Organic EVOO, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, farmed and made by the Febo family. Farmed sustainably and organic, this natural extra virgin olive oil is also vegan and, like all evoos, a first run - cold press olive oil, the best kind of olive oil for you.
The 2024 harvest is still made from a blend of olives like leccino and 500 year old trees, but now it is mostly the dritta cultivar.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic
Fun Facts: The dritta cultivar is a rare one being saved by Davide Febo who is trying to save and rehabilitate it.
This is a woman made, limited production first cold press organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Maremma hills of Tuscany made from a blend of four Tuscan cultivars. Buttery deliciousness with a bitter kick at the end, thanks to its polyphenols. It has won gold medals in a competition which judges the best extra virgin organic olive oils from around the world.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
A prestigious first cold press monocultivar organic extra virgin olive oil from the Maremma hils of Tuscany which has won best organic extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany! Its polyphenols which are used to determine how good an olive oil is, are exceptionally high!
Top awards include extra gold, as best Tuscan organic EVOO by Biol Novello which evaluates the best olive oils in the world. In the past this olive oil has also won Best in Italy, as well as Gambero Rosso 3 leaves (their highest rating).
Its aromas of grass, green pepper and mint lead to an intense hot pepper taste and a long finish with black pepper lingering in your mouth. Even just a little drizzled over a simple lettuce salad will bring it to life with flavor.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
This is an olive oil, super food for super foodies. This is small production organic & vegan extra virgin olive oil made primarily from a rare local cultivar from the area of Macerata Italy called Piantone de Mogliano. The buttery flavors and taste of this organic EVOO so inspired the family behind Quercia Scarlatta farm and winery in Le Marche Italy to name it ‘our gold’, or Il Nostro Oro.
Hand harvested and milled at the family’s farm, a first run, cold press evoo, this olive oil’s aromas remind you of stepping into a garden full of fresh green beans with a whiff of black pepper. Likewise, tasting it is like having fresh green beans with black pepper and butter, thanks to its buttery texture. Black pepper continues on the finish.
This organic extra virgin olive oil comes in a 3 liter container, made for following the Mediterranean diet to a tee!
