Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Torta Rustica

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Despite my love for baking I am not into making pies from scratch and I have never made a gluten free pie. I wanted to make one after I saw a pie demonstration by Chef Ian Lai, which made me salivate as I watched him make it during a roof top garden cookout. I can’t describe the flavor but the pie looked amazingly flaky. Everyone in the class oohed and ahhed about the  savory filling and talked how tender, light and crisp the pie was. They enjoyed every morsel  except me.  My interest was piqued and I thought I need to conquer my fear of making a gluten free pie crust. I came home pulled up my sleeves, took out my rolling pin and set out to make pie crust.

 

 

Pie is the second most challenging thing for me to recreate as gluten free. I tried smaller, one crust pies before making this recipe. Torta Rustica is a multi layered pie that takes a little extra time to make than a standard pie. Each  layer is prepared separately, seasoned and arranged in pastry shell and baked until golden brown. For this recipe I have used onions, spinach, mushrooms and boiled eggs but you can substitute any vegetables that you like. I have made it on a cookie sheet exactly as Chef had done it instead of a spring form pan. I  followed Gluten free girl’s pie crust recipe with some slight variation. I have processed whole almonds to make my own almond flour, then sifted with a sieve. The left over crumbs can be added to pancakes, sweets, smoothies and can be used for some recipes in place of bread crumbs. I did not get into measuring my flour with a weighing scale as I am still in a trial process. We all know what the perfect crust should be. Shatteringly flaky, buttery and crisp. And I haven’t reached there yet. My pie crust was crumbly more like a short crust pastry.

 

 

So, this being my first trial I am not in a position to suggest anything because what ever tips Chef gave us, I could not follow to the dot. My base came out soggy from the middle. I am not sure if it is the wrong flour mix that I used or the filling was wet. However, I am still satisfied that it turned out beautifully and I loved making this rewarding pie from scratch. I totally relate myself to people who say that it is difficult and challenging  and  also to those who say that it is easy and anyone can do it. May be after 3-4 trials  I can also say that it is really easy to make!

It is generally difficult to photograph food when it rains all the time and if the sun shows up from the clouds, you are not ready to take a shot. I nearly spent 3 hours of my afternoon in making this pie and when it was time to take final picture it got all dark and gloomy. I took pictures under the dining room light but somehow none of the pictures except one seemed worthy to post.

 

 

TORTA RUSTICA

Makes 8″x10.5″ pie (approx.)

Ingredients for the pie:

(adapted from Gluten free girl)

1 1/4 cup almond flour

2/3 cup millet flour

2/3 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

1 tsp xanthum gum

10 tbsp butter

1/2 cup water

1 beaten egg

Filling:

300 g sliced onion ( makes 1/2 cup caramelized onion)

spinach (1 cup cooked)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

400 g mushroom (1/2 -3/4 cup cooked)

1 tsp dried dill (optional)

3 boiled eggs, sliced

cheese as much you want

5 tbsp olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Method for preparing pie dough:

  1. Cut butter into 1/2″  pieces and place it in freezer for 15- 20 minutes.
  2. Combine flour blend in the bowl of food processor. Pulse 5-6 times till it becomes one flour.
  3. Add butter and pulse 5-6 times or until the mixture has some pea size pieces of butter.
  4. With the processor running add the cold water one tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.
  5. Remove the dough, roughly divide into two balls or discs, one slightly bigger than  the other. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least for 1 hour before rolling it out.

While the dough is resting in the fridge work on filling.

  1. Heat  2 tbsp oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add  sliced onion, sprinkle 1 tsp salt over them. Cook on medium heat, stirring every couple of minutes until the onions are soft and honey colored ( It takes about 20- 30 minutes).
  2. In another pan  heat 1 tbsp oil, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add spinach cook for 1 minute or until wilted, use tongs to turn it over for even cooking. Remove spinach from heat and transfer in a bowl, drain any excess moisture. Sprinkle salt to taste.
  3. Wipe the pan with paper towel in which you just cooked spinach. Heat the remaining oil and add sliced mushroom. Stir and cook. You should hear the mushroom sizzling. Continue cooking until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushroom starts to brown(5 minutes). Remove in a bowl and add dried dill, salt and pepper. Mix.

 

 

ASSEMBLING THE  PIE

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Take the smaller portion of the dough and roll into 7″ wide and 10.5″ long between two pieces of parchment paper. Place it on prepared baking sheet. Brush with olive oil.
  3. Spread caramelized onion, then spinach, mushrooms, cheese and sliced boiled eggs.
  4. Roll out the remaining dough to a bigger size than the bottom.
  5. Moisten the edge of the bottom pie layer with water. Place the other rolled out layer on top. Press the edges of the dough to seal. Pinch  up the dough between thumb and forefinger around bottom of torta.
  6. Make slits in the top with a knife to let steam escape and brush with the beaten egg.
  7. Bake until golden and crisp, about 45 minutes.
  8. Allow pie to cool for few minutes prior to serving.

 

 

You might also like:

Vegetable Pulao with Chai Flavor
Leftover Salmon Kedgeree with Quick Mango Chutney
Adai (Ada dosa)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Balvinder yours turned out beautiful! I have made a Torta Rustica several times. Two times I posted it as a Torta Rustica on my blog while the third time I figured out a way that worked best for me and then I called it a Vegetable Torte – why I’m not sure. You can check it out if you haven’t seen it before but I found it much easier to prepare when done in a springform pan. Here’s the link: http://in-homeculinaryclasses.blogspot.com/2012/10/savory-layered-vegetable-torte.html

    Beautiful presentation and I like your fillings.

    Reply

  6. I have fear making pie crust, in fat its been donkey years since I made one. From the ingredients, I see the use of many types of flour and that must have been the reason why your pie turned out perfect. Its a lovely savory pie and its pulling me attention very strongly.

    Reply

  9. Bal , your first attempt looks really good ! It’s beautifully baked as well 🙂 Just love the filling especially with that boiled eggs … That’s why I like to bake early in the morning and it’s winter now , at 4 or 5 in the afternoon it’s already starting to get dark here 😛 😀

    Reply

  10. Wow, it looks beautiful and with spinach, mushrooms etc it must taste so good 🙂 I’ve never attempted a pie from scratch!! Kudos to you 🙂

    Reply

  13. hi balvinder, wow ! very innovative of you to use 5 types of flour- this must be one of the most exclusive and authentic pie. makes me motivated to try make one too… delicious. > bookmarked with thanks.

    Reply

  14. Hi Balvinder, awesome pie and I love the shape. The 5 types of flour you used……great combination, the filling look excellent.
    Have a lovely week ahead,regards.

    Reply

    • I use tapioca flour in most of my gluten free baking. It gives a chewy texture and light color to the baked goods. When combined with rice flour and xanthum gum its an alternative replacement for wheat flour.
      Xanthum gum is a type of binder to keep gluten free baked goods from crumbling. When I was eating gluten I had never worked with these flours, either but now in last five years I have seen a lot of change in people’s eating habits. They want to experiment with these flours.

      Reply

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