Maltese Ricotta Pie

This delightful Maltese pie is packed full of summer vegetables and fragrant herbs. The pastry is a flaky, crispy, buttery affair. Due to the moisture content of the vegetables, ensure you squeeze them with a clean tea towel after cooking to prevent a soggy pie bottom. The blind bake will help with this, too. Scrumptious served warm out of the oven with salad and friends! Can also be eaten cold and makes a great packed lunch. Ingredient notes: - If it is the wrong season for pumpkin, use butternut squash instead- 300g is approximately one small pumpkin/squash (after peeling and deseeding) - Any leftover pastry can be made into shapes to decorate the pie before baking- get creative! This pie can be stored in the fridge for a few days though its doubtful it will last that long! Recipe tested and photographed by Miriam

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

To make the dough, combine flour, salt and water on a floured bench and knead until smooth, around 5 minutes. Cover and rest in a cool place for 2 hours.

Step 2

Roll out dough on a floured surface until it's paper thin then smear with a thick layer of the soft butter. Roll up the dough until you have a log, then coil it and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan assisted)

Step 4

Lightly grease a 24 cm pie tin with butter. Roll out the dough to 3 mm thick and use it to line the tin. Leave a little overhang over the edge of the tin to allow for shrinkage during the blind bake. Use the remaining dough to make the lid for the pie and set aside

Step 5

Now for blind baking- line pastry with some baking paper before adding in the ceramic baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes before carefully removing the beans and parchment paper. Bake for 5 minutes by which point the pastry should be lightly golden. Remove from the oven and after allowing to cool for 5 minutes, neatly trim the pastry overhang. Whilst doing this, gently loosen the pastry from the pie dish (we will later be tucking the raw pastry lid underneath to form a seal)

Step 6

To make the filling, heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan, add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat, then add the zucchini, pumpkin and peas and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat, add herbs and set aside

Step 7

In a large bowl, mix eggs with ricotta

Step 8

Now the zucchini mixture has cooled a little, squeeze out any excess liquid before adding into the ricotta mixture

Step 9

Spread the filling in the cooled pie dish, then cover with the pastry lid, tucking underneath the edge of the blind baked shell. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges together to seal and snip the top of the pie to release steam during cooking

Step 10

Beat one egg and brush over the top of the pie to get a shine in the oven

Step 11

Place the pie in the oven, reduce the temperature to 200°C and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes in the tin before serving

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