Torta Pasqualina Genovese con Prescinsêua

Ingredients

• For the pastry
• 500 g plain flour, plus more for dusting
• 180 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided — some for the dough, the rest for brushing between layers
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 200 ml water, lukewarm
• For the filling
• 1 kg wild chard (bietola selvatica), blanched, squeezed completely dry in a cloth, finely chopped
• 500 g prescinsêua, Ligurian curd cheese; see note on substitution
• 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
• 6 eggs, 4 beaten into the filling mixture; 2 reserved whole for nesting into the tart
• 1 tsp fine salt, or to taste
• 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
• To finish
• 1 egg, beaten with a little water, for egg wash on the top layer

Method

1. 1
   Make the pastry dough. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then work in a little olive oil and enough lukewarm water to bring the dough together into a smooth, pliable mass. Knead for 8–10 minutes until the surface is silky. Divide the dough into 33 equal balls (or a minimum of 10–12 if practicality demands it), cover with a cloth, and rest for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it no longer springs back when pressed.
2. 2
   Roll each ball to translucency — through the sheet you must be able to read newsprint. Use a pasta machine at setting 8–9 for consistency. Keep the rolled sheets covered under a damp cloth as you work to prevent drying.
3. 3
   Prepare the filling. Ensure the blanched chard has been squeezed in a cloth until absolutely no moisture remains — press firmly and repeat. Combine the dry chard with the prescinsêua, grated Parmigiano, 4 beaten eggs, salt, and black pepper. Mix until homogeneous. The mixture must hold its shape when lifted on a spoon; any pooling liquid means the chard requires further pressing.
4. 4
   Oil a round tart tin generously. Lay down the first pastry sheet, letting the edges overhang the tin, and brush its entire surface with olive oil. Continue layering and brushing with oil — every single sheet, without exception. This is where the dish lives or dies: if any sheet is left uncoated, the layers fuse, the architectural separation is lost, and the pastry will not shatter when baked. Lay roughly half the sheets (16 or 5–6 in the shorter version) as the base.
5. 5
   Spread the filling evenly over the pastry base. Make two shallow wells in the filling and crack one whole egg carefully into each well, keeping the yolks intact. The eggs will continue to cook as the tart bakes and must remain soft-set — they are added at this stage, not earlier.
6. 6
   Layer the remaining pastry sheets over the filling, brushing each with olive oil as before. Trim the overhanging edges and crimp or fold them inward to seal. Brush the top surface with egg wash — beaten egg let down with a little water — to achieve a uniform deep-golden finish.
7. 7
   Bake at 180 °C for 45–50 minutes. The tart is done when the pastry is deep golden across its entire surface and emits a crisp, hollow sound when the top is tapped with a knuckle. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting with a serrated knife in a sawing motion, which cleaves the crisp layers cleanly without crushing the egg within.