When I was little, my Mom, Grammy, and Auntie Patti were at-home moms, and they'd get together on Good Friday to make our family's traditional Easter Bread (we're Italians, but the exact origin of the recipe is lost in the blur of the past). School was closed for Good Friday, so my siblings and I would hang around while the ladies made Easter Bread. It being Good Friday, we had to struggle against the temptation to pick in the ham. We always got the extra dough to play with, to keep us busy, and this recipe makes enough to spare.
In recent years, no one has had the time to keep the tradition going. (I would, but I have jack squat for workspace in my kitchen, so not while I'm living here.) Also, it's by no stretch of the imagination health food. The best you can do to cut the fat and calories is to use part-skim riccotta and lean ham. It's delicious, but it's also heavy, so thin slices (1" or so at widest) are good.
CRUST
5 cups flour
9 raw eggs
1 TBSP baking powder
½ cup shortening
salt&pepper
FILLING
18 boiled eggs (sliced/diced)
32 oz. tub ricotta
½ lb. Mozzarella
½ lb. provolone
4 cups cubed ham
grated cheese (parmesan? romano?)
Bake 350 F until done, about 1 hour-ish
[Note: I found this recipe in Mom's drawer, the ink faded, the paper tattered. The bake temperature wasn't even noted, but Mom said 350, because it's sort of a default unless-otherwise-noted baking temperature.]
