Broccoli rabe

Ricotta & Broccoli Rabe Tart from Vegetables the Italian Way

3 min read

A ricotta and broccoli rabe tart with a golden lattice crust, the bright green filling visible through the weave.

Giulia Scarpaleggia's Vegetables the Italian Way had us earmarking recipes the moment we opened it. This ricotta and broccoli rabe tart, baked under a woven dough lattice, is the one we were most excited to share.

In Italy this kind of tart is called a torta salata. It's everyday cooking, the cousin to a galette: a flaky from-scratch pie crust, a generous filling of whatever leafy greens you've got, bound up with cheese and herbs. Giulia's version leans on broccoli rabe, fresh mint and parsley, and three cheeses (ricotta, ricotta salata, and Parmigiano). The dough rests overnight, which makes this the kind of thing you start one evening and bake the next. Beautiful enough for company. Sturdy enough to pack into lunch the day after.

We make ricotta most weekends, so a tart built around it is always going to be one of the first things we cook out of any new book. If you don't make your own, store-bought whole-milk works fine. Just give it time to drain so the tart doesn't get a soggy bottom.

How to make this tart

Start with broccoli rabe. It's bitter and assertive, in season through the spring, and it's what gives this tart its personality. Boil it in heavily salted water until soft, about ten minutes, then drain and squeeze the water out by hand. Soften a sliced leek in olive oil with a clove of garlic. Once the leek is soft and the garlic is golden, fish the garlic out (it's there to flavor the oil) and stir in the chopped rabe. Cook everything together until the pan is dry. Skip the squeeze and your tart goes wet.

Mix the cooled rabe with three cheeses (ricotta for body, ricotta salata for the sharp salt edge, Parmigiano for depth) and a half-cup each of fresh mint and parsley, folded all the way through. Sheep's-milk ricotta is the call if you can find it; cow's-milk works fine. Pecorino Romano is a fine swap for ricotta salata. The herbs aren't a garnish. They're what brightens the filling.

The lattice looks intimidating, but it isn't. Roll two-thirds of the dough into the pan and fill it. The leftover scraps and the remaining third roll out into a rectangle and get sliced into half-inch strips. Half the strips lay across in one direction. The other half weave perpendicular, over and under. Trim the ends and brush the whole top with egg wash.

If you've made our Fiddlehead Tart or our Rhubarb Galette, this one's the same family. A woven top instead of a free-form fold. Easier than it looks.

Cut it into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with a simple green salad and a glass of wine.

If you're new to making ricotta, here's how we do it, and our Fresh Italian Cheese Kit is what we use.

Excerpted from Vegetables the Italian Way by Giulia Scarpaleggia (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2026. Photographs by Tommaso Galli.

Prep
1 hr
Cook
45 min
Total
1 hr 45 min
Makes
6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

For the pie dough

  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 11 ½ tablespoons (160 g) cold unsalted butter
  • Scant ½ cup (100 ml) ice-cold water

For the filling

  • Fine sea salt
  • 2 large bunches of broccoli rabeabout 2 pounds / 900 g total
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 bunch of fresh mint, choppedabout ½ cup / 15 g
  • 1 bunch of fresh parsley, choppedabout ½ cup / 15 g
  • ¾ cup (7 ounces / 200 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese, preferably sheep's milk, well drained
  • 1½ ounces (40 g) ricotta salata or Pecorino Romano cheese, finely gratedabout ⅔ cup firmly packed
  • 1½ ounces (40 g) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely gratedabout ⅔ cup firmly packed
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Softened butter, for the pie dish
  • All-purpose flour, for dusting
  • Egg wash: 1 large egg yolk beaten with a pinch of salt

Directions

Make the pie dough

  1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat with flour, then use a bench scraper to cut the butter lengthwise in half, then in quarters, coating each newly cut side in flour. Dice the butter and continue cutting until pieces are roughly the size of peas.

  2. Add the ice-cold water little by little, mixing quickly with your hands just enough to create a ball of dough without visible streaks of flour. Work the dough as little as possible.

  3. Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.

Make the filling

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously. While the water heats, cut off the toughest stalks of the broccoli rabe and discard. Rinse the rabe under cold running water and rip it into large pieces.

  2. Plunge the broccoli rabe into the boiling water, submerging with a spoon, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool until you can easily handle it. Working in batches, press the broccoli rabe into small balls and squeeze well to remove excess water. Roughly chop and set aside.

  3. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the leek and garlic. Season with a generous pinch of salt. Cook the leek for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft.

  4. When the leek is soft and the garlic is golden, remove the garlic from the pan. Add the chopped broccoli rabe and toss to coat in the oil. Increase heat to medium and cook, tossing every 5 minutes or so, until all the liquid has evaporated and the broccoli rabe is dry and glistening with oil, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool completely.

  5. Mix the cooled broccoli rabe thoroughly with the mint, parsley, ricotta, ricotta salata, and Parmigiano. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

Bake the tart

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Generously butter a 9½-inch (24 cm) pie dish or tart pan with or without a removable bottom.

  2. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and transfer to a floured surface. Take two-thirds of the dough and roll it out with a floured rolling pin into a round big enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Transfer to the prepared dish, fitting it into the bottom and up the sides. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork. Add the cooled broccoli rabe filling and spread into an even layer.

  3. Trim the excess dough with a knife and reserve the scraps. Pile the trimmings with the remaining one-third dough and roll out into a rectangle about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick.

  4. Using a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, slice the dough into even strips about ½ inch (13 mm) wide. Arrange half of the strips parallel across the top of the tart, spacing them evenly apart. Take the remaining strips and weave them perpendicularly over and under the first set, creating a classic lattice pattern. Trim any excess hanging over the edges and gently press the ends into the crust to secure them. Brush the lattice and edges with the egg wash.

  5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. Set on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Notes

Leftovers keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat in the oven, the microwave, or a hot pan.

Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini or cime di rapa) can be replaced by any leafy green such as spinach, chard, or lacinato kale (cavolo nero). Boil until tender, squeeze thoroughly, chop finely, and sauté with the leeks and olive oil.

5.0 · 1 rating

Rate this recipe

More recipes like this

All recipes

Leave a comment

Comments are checked before they publish.