Italian Spinach Torta

The name is pretty fancy, but this Torta is quite simple to make.  
The lattice top dresses it up and makes a great appetizer
for a crowd or an entrée for 4-6.  

I whipped one of these up for Christmas Day Brunch
as well as for dinner with company.  

Leftovers, if any, re-heat well in the toaster oven!  

Now, if you have the time and desire, by all means, make your own pie crust.  
If you're looking for a shortcut, Pillsbury makes a great
refrigerated pie crust.  Just roll it out, fill 'er up and top it off.  

Fix yourself a salad and a little dessert while this
bakes up and you'll be good to go!

Original recipe found here 

Ingredients:

Crust

1

box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1

box (9 oz)  frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain

1

cup ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

1/2

cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a blend of Pecorino and Romano since that's what I had on hand)

1/4

to 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper

1

egg, separated

1

teaspoon water

Directions:

Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom or 9-inch glass pie pan. Place 1 pie crust in pan; press in bottom and up sides of pan. Trim edges if necessary.

• Place oven rack in lowest rack position; heat oven to 400°F. In medium bowl, mix spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, pepper and egg yolk until well blended; spread evenly in crust-lined pan.
• To make lattice top, cut remaining pie crust into 3/4-inch-wide strips; arrange in lattice design over spinach mixture. Trim and seal edges. In small bowl with fork, beat egg white and water; gently brush over lattice.
• Bake on lowest oven rack 45 to 50 minutes or until dark golden brown. If necessary, cover torta with foil during last 5 to 10 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. (I covered the sides during the last 15 minutes of cooking since mine started to brown sooner) Cool 10 minutes; remove sides of pan.  (don't worry if you don't have a removable torte pan.  The crust is buttery enough that it won't stick to your glass pie 
• dish.)
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Happy Cooking and  Happy Styling!