Patio Dining Furniture Continued...

The second dish that I will serve to my guests at the patio dining furniture is Pasqualina. Pasqualina literally means "little Easter." It has been a part of Easter in my family as long as I can remember. The ingredients in this dish are artichokes, onion, garlic, fresh Italian parsley, extra virgin olive oil, ricotta cheese, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, packaged puff pastry and eggs.

To make my family's Pasqualina, you will need to start by cleaning the artichokes. You can do this by first cutting off the stems, then removing the outer leaves and discarding them. Now, cut away the tender inner leaves and put them in a large bowl of cold water with lemon juice. With the leaves removed cut away the inner thorn and then slice the remainder of the artichoke into thin slices and put them into the bowl.

Lastly, peel the stems with a vegetable peeler, slice the core thinly and add them to the rest. Only use the first three or four inches of the stem. In a pan heat the oil and add the onion, thinly sliced, chopped parsley and the clove of garlic. Cook them for about five minutes then drain the artichokes well and add them. Continue cooking until the artichokes are done, about twenty to thirty minutes. Salt them to taste while cooking. Remove the garlic from the artichokes and set it aside to cool a few minutes while you prepare the rest.

Now roll out the puff pastry until it is nice and thin, a little thinner than a normal pie crust. Put the pastry into a nine inch spring-form pan. Roll it out so that it is big enough to come out over the top of the pan. Add the ricotta cheese and the parmesan cheese to the artichokes and mix well. Now add the mixture to the spring form pan and spread it evenly. With a spoon, make five impressions in the mix. One in the middle and four around it.

Put one raw egg into each of the impressions and then sprinkle each one with a small pinch of salt. Roll out some more puff pastry to cover the pie and lay it on top. Now about one half to three quarters of an inch above the filling, cut away the excess pastry. Then pinch the top and bottom together. Finally fold the pinch edge down so that it doesn't burn. Make a small slit in the crust, insert a straw and blow gently to lift the crust slightly. Repeat this three times in different places.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven when done and let it cool off before serving. My family likes to drink Pinot grigio with this dish. The family looks forward to Easter every year so that they can sit at the patio dining furniture and eat Pasqualina.