Easter Recipe From Liguria: "Pasqualina" Savory Cream Puffs

Easter is approaching, and it’s time to start thinking about your table! If you are looking for an original Easter recipe to surprise your guests, bringing home a bit of Liguria, the chefs at Palmaria restaurant in Portovenere propose the Pasqualina savory cream puffs with hollandaise sauce.

The dish is inspired by the Torta Pasqualina, a pie that is typical of Liguria’s cuisine at this time of year. It is a rich and tasty dish with a double layer of puff pastry enclosing a filling of chard, cheese and eggs.

The Pasqualina cake has very ancient origins. Tradition has it that as early as the 1400s, women in Genoa rolled out 33 sheets of dough in homage to the years of Christ, assembling them one on top of the other before adding the stuffing. You can find more traditional Easter dishes from Liguria here.

Recipe for the Easter savory cream puffs with hollandaise sauce

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE

For the Cream Puffs:
940 g butter
1852 g water
4480 g flour
48 eggs
salt to taste

For the Filling:
2800 g Swiss chard
4 medium eggs
2 onions
200 g parmigiano reggiano
Oil, salt, pepper, and marjoram to taste

For the Cream Puff Glaze:
3040 g heavy cream
3060 g white wine
890 g butter
5 scallions
5 cloves
2540 g milk
1150 g potato starch
60 g isinglass
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, puréed spinach to taste

For the Hollandaise Sauce:
18 egg yolks
1540 g water and vinegar solution
530 g butter
4 scallions to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

COOKING STEPS

For the cream puffs:
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together until you obtain a soft and elastic texture.

For the filling:
Blanch the Swiss chard, drain and add to the rest of the ingredients.

For the cream puff glaze:
Combine all the ingredients except the potato starch in a saucepan, place over heat and mix, then add the starch.

For the hollandaise sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a bain-marie.