One of our favorite Italian food traditions is the serving of pizza rustica around Eastertime. We'd almost forgotten about pizza rustica until we saw some freshly made pies yesterday at Dolce & Clemente in Robbinsville, NJ (see the Roadfood.com review). We were there to pick up a lunchtime veal parm hero -- Dolce makes one of the most awesome veal parm heroes you'll ever taste, but you have to be there when they have the veal. And today they had none. So, rather than settle for the lesser chicken parm hero, we went with a piece of their pizza rustica.

What exactly is pizza rustica? It's closest analogue, for American palates, is probably quiche, but where French quiche, in its classic Lorraine form, is a subtle, custardy expression of cream and eggs lightly touched by bacon and Gruyere, pizza rustica is a hefty, hearty deep-dish pie of ricotta and eggs, pungent cheese, and cured pork. When well-made, as is Dolce & Clemente's version, it's a satisfying flavor explosion that's impossible to stop eating. It's currently selling for around $9/pound at Dolce & Clemente.