Argentinian food, Australian kitchens
Tarta Pascualina Recipe: Spinach, Ricotta and Egg Pie
Tarta pascualina is a savoury greens-and-egg pie with roots in the Italian pasqualina tradition and a place in Argentinian home cooking. The useful lesson for a home baker is moisture control: well-drained greens and ricotta make a much better filling than a pile of wet spinach. This is an accessible two-crust version, not the many-layered pastry of every traditional Easter pie.
The Classic (pack of 4) - Frozen
A different cheese-filled option: four frozen Classic empanadas with three cheeses and caramelised onion. Not corn, chipá or spinach pie; contains wheat and dairy.
View product and current optionsDecide which version you are making
Some pasqualina recipes use many fine sheets of oil pastry, while everyday home versions can use a simpler top and bottom crust. Both deserve a clear name and method. This guide takes the latter approach, so it is manageable for a family lunch rather than a pastry project that occupies the whole day. It does not claim that two bought pastry sheets recreate every regional tradition.
Spinach and silverbeet are related choices in the sense that both give a leafy filling, but they behave differently. Silverbeet stalks take longer than leaves and can contribute extra water. Baby spinach collapses quickly and can leave a surprisingly small amount after cooking. Measure what you need and judge the cooked, drained filling instead of assuming two supermarket bags always equal the same quantity.
Ingredients for one family pie
For a pie dish around 24 cm across, have baking-suitable pastry for a base and lid, 600 g spinach or prepared silverbeet leaves, one onion finely chopped, 20 ml olive oil, 350 g well-drained ricotta, 60 g grated parmesan and six eggs. Use two eggs in the filling and four whole eggs for the wells. Add black pepper, a little salt and a pinch of nutmeg if desired. Allow roughly six to eight portions depending on the rest of the meal.
Choose a dish deep enough for the filling but not so deep that the pastry struggles to cook. If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze it thoroughly, then assess the amount: its cooked weight is not equivalent to the same weight of raw fresh leaves. Use the pastry packet's temperature guidance where it differs from the general baking range below.
Cook and drain the greens
Cook the onion in olive oil until soft. Wilt the prepared greens, working in batches if necessary, then let them cool enough to handle. Squeeze or drain out excess water and chop them. The goal is a moist vegetable mixture without liquid pooling beneath it. This is the stage that prevents a pie from becoming a watery slice later.
Drain wet ricotta separately. Combine it with the cooled greens, onion, parmesan and two beaten eggs. Season thoughtfully because parmesan can be salty. If the mixture looks loose before it goes into the dish, the oven will not magically remove all the water through a pastry lid. Correct drainage now rather than adding a large quantity of breadcrumbs that changes the texture.
Assemble the egg wells
Line the dish with pastry, following the product's handling instructions. Add the filling and make four shallow wells with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each well. Space them so that the pie can be cut into portions containing both greens and egg. Do not make the wells so deep that the eggs sit against an exposed, fragile pastry base.
Cover with the lid, seal the edges and cut a small vent. Brush lightly with egg yolk or olive oil if wanted. Avoid trapping a thick rope of excess pastry at the rim: it can look finished while remaining undercooked inside. Place the pie on a tray so that moving a full dish into and out of the oven is easier and any drips are contained.
Bake until the whole pie is cooked
A useful starting setting is 190°C conventional or 170°C fan-forced, with roughly 45 to 60 minutes for a medium pie. Actual timing depends on the dish, pastry and filling depth. Check that the pastry is cooked, the filling is set and the whole eggs are cooked to the needs of the people eating. Follow Australian food-safety advice, especially when serving anyone more vulnerable to foodborne illness.
Let the pie stand briefly before cutting so the filling can settle. Resting is a texture step, not a licence to leave an egg-and-dairy dish on the bench all afternoon. If the top colours before the pie is done, protect it appropriately and continue cooking rather than declaring it ready from the lid alone. A transparent or wet pastry base is a separate problem from an attractive top.
Fix a wet base or a collapsing slice
Water under the first slice usually points to insufficiently drained greens or ricotta. A very deep filling can compound that issue. On the next attempt, drain more thoroughly and keep the layer reasonably even. If the filling is dry but the crust is pale, look at dish material, oven position and the pastry instructions before changing the vegetables.
If the pie breaks apart when cut immediately, a short settling time may help. A filling that remains runny needs proper cooking, not simply more patience on the table. Use a sharp knife and support the first slice with a server. The first portion often comes out less neatly than the rest, which is a presentation issue rather than proof that the whole pie failed.
Serve a thoughtful vegetarian table
Pascualina works with a tomato salad or salsa criolla. It contains eggs and dairy and is not vegan. Check the cheese and pastry ingredients for the particular guests rather than treating a spinach label as a complete dietary assessment. For another vegetable-led bake, the corn empanada guide answers a different cooking question.
If you want a smaller ready-to-cook savoury option, the Classic empanada is cheese and caramelised onion, not spinach-and-egg pie. Its product card is labelled accordingly. Use our official cooking guide for frozen empanadas, not this pie's timing. This is a home-style guide, not a claim that Argentum currently sells pascualina or that this recipe has been tested in its production kitchen.
Sources and further reading
Published 3 November 2026. This home-style guide explains our own suggested approach, with background reading below. It is not presented as a tested Argentum production recipe.
Primary background source · Further reference · Explore the Argentinian recipe hub