Also a bit more digging revealed this wonderful Italian-American woman’s description of her family’s Pizza Chiena, on her blog Egg And Soldier. 

Nick Malgieri gives a recipe too, although his pizza chiena is baked in a bigger rectangular pan

I haven’t given you much time have I?  One day till Easter. 

Well, if you live around New York, another option is to buy it at the Arthur Avenue market.

But if not, well, then here’s one more recipe:

Arthur Schwart’z version:

For the dough

1 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons lard
3 eggs lightly beaten

For the filling

3 ounces soppressata, cut into 1/8 inch dice
3 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1/8 inch dice
3 ounces cooked ham, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 sweet Italian sausages, boiled, skinned, and finely chopped (reserve the sausage cooking water),
8 ounces whole milk mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 ounces dried sausage with hot pepper (pepperoni)
peeled and cut into 1/8 inch dice
3 eggs lightly beaten
3 1/4 cups whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino or a combination
3/4 cup finely cut parsley
4 hard cooked eggs:  2 coarsely chopped, 2 sliced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Plus:  1 egg lightly beaten, as a wash.

To make the pastry:

1.  In a small bowl or cup, dissolve the yeast in the water.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Pinch the lard into the flour to distribute it evenly.  with a wooden spoon, stir in the eggs and dissolved yeast until a dough forms.  Still in the bowl, knead the dough, sprinkling lightly with flour to make it less sticky.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a floured board and continue to knead, adding flour a little at a time, even by the teaspoonful, until the dough is very smooth and silky, about 8 minutes.  Dust lightly with flour, place in a bowl, cover with a clean dishtowel, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, at least an hour.  Punch down and let rise a second time. 

To make the filling:

4.  In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the 2 sliced eggs and the egg wash, and blend very well, stirring in about 1/2 cup of the sausage boiling water.  It’s a thick filling.

To assemble and bake:

5.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

6.  Punch down the dough and divide into four equal pieces to make top and bottom crusts for two 10-inch, preferrably glass pie plates.

7.  On a lightly floured board, roll out a quarter of the dough into a 14- to 15-inch circle.  (It is very elastic dough and this takes some effort.) It should be thin and large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the plate.  Carefully drape the dough into the dish.

8.  Fill with half the filling.  Top with slices of 1 hard-cooked egg.

9.  roll out another quarter of dough to an 11-inch circle, large enough to cover the pie plate.  Cut off the excess dough, then roll the edges of the top and bottom crusts together, pinching well to seal.  Cut four slits in the center of the top crust, then brush with a beaten egg.

10.  Make a second pie with the remaining pastry, filling, and sliced hard-cooked egg.

11.  Bake for 50 minutes to an hour.  After 30 minutes, if the top is browning well, cover it with foil, shiny side out, to prevent it from burning.  Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pie plate and cool to room temperature.  The pie may be eaten soon after it cools completely, but it can be kept, well-wrapped, int he refrigerator.  It should keep well for several days.