Istrian recipe: MY MOTHER'S EASTER PIE

We simply call it “pogaca”, pie, and I don’t know anyone else who makes this bread stuffed with a kind of asparagus and meat omlette except for my mother (and my sister). I used it as a motif in my story “A Fairy Tale for Easter” and realised that it actually does work well around Easter. The forests around the farm are full of sweet and delicate asparagus, the ham is perfectly cured by late March or early April and I don’t think mother ever makes it in any other season but spring.

It takes some time and some skill (mostly for making good bread) but the final product is a deliciously decadent savoury cake. It makes an impressive centrepiece when you put it in the middle of the table and cut out warm slices. Yummy.

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BREAD:
500g flour
Yeast (a sachet)
Approx 150-200 ml lukewarm water
Pinch of salt, a little bit of sugar and some butter
FOR THE FILLING:
6-7 medium-sized eggs
2 packs of asparagus (thin ones)
2-3 chorizo sausages for cooking, or good quality cured ham or Parma ham
200 g of soft cheese (mild cheddar or edam)
100g of stronger flavoured cheese (extra mature cheddar, grana padano or manchego)
Single cream
Olive oil

HOW TO MAKE IT
Mix together flour, yeast, salt, sugar and butter and knead until you get a smooth dough. Cover it with a kitchen towel and put it aside for half an hour or until it rises. Then knead it again and let it rise for another half an hour. Clean the asparagus and cut into 2-cm-long pieces, boil for 8-10 min until they just start getting soft. Cut the chorizo in circles or cured ham in small cubes and fry in a little olive oil. In the meantime beat 6-7 eggs, add a little bit of single cream and grated cheese. Add asparagus to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes before adding the egg mixture. Turn the heat down and stir it gently. The mixture needs to be half settled as it gets finished inside the bread in the oven.

Split the bread in half, spread half on the bottom and the sides of an oval cake dish making a well in the middle. Pour the mixture from the pan into the middle and cover with the rest of the bread. Bake on 200 degrees for 25-30 min, until the bread gets nicely done and egg mixture settled. Serve it warm; when the egg mixture is still a little bit wobbly and the bread is deliciously soft and warm. You can add a few leaves of salad on the plate. It also makes a perfect lunch the following day.