Recipe: Italian Ham Pie

When my age was still single digits I lived briefly with my Aunt Geri and two cousins, Susan and Bill. It was a complicated time for me: my parent had divorced a few years earlier and I was struggling with that and with being moved around between parents. I don’t remember a ton from that time, but I remember three things:

1) Sue introduced me to the band Journey, and I still freakin’ love them!

2) Sue, who to this day feels like the big sister I never had, and her best friend Deana totally let me hang out with them all the time, which was awesome because they were teenagers. (They still let me hang out with them, too!)

3) My Aunt Geri used to let me watch her cook all the time.

A few years back Sue forwarded me the recipes for Italian Ham Pie and Rice Pie, and the “recipes” are kind of hilarious. The ham pie recipe doesn’t even specify what temp or how long to bake it! It also made two pies worth, so I decided to cut it in half and “lighten” it a bit. It’s barely a recipe because it’s super easy.

Here it is, without further ado:

Italian Ham Pie

• 1 pie crust
• 1 lb cooked ham, diced fine
• 4 large eggs
• 1 lb. part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 4 T parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Press the pie crust into a 9″ pie plate.

Stir the rest of the ingredient together in a large bowl. You can see I did it in stages, because I’m anal like that, but you don’t have to, as long as it’s mixed thoroughly. Pour it into the pie crust.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until it’s set in the middle. It might look a little moist on the top but as long as it doesn’t jiggle when you shake it, it’s done. The crust should be golden brown and delicious!

Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing in 8 servings.

I remember eating this cold or at room temperature, which is the way I eat it now. The Hubs likes it reheated. Both ways are fine, of course!

Enjoy!