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Italian Rice Pie (Pastiera di Riso)

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Italian Rice Pie (Pastiera di Riso) David Cicconi
  • Active Time

    1 1/2 hours

  • Total Time

    6 1/2 hours

意大利小麦的馅饼,里面有丰富的乳清custard studded with tender wheat berries—are associated with Easter celebrations, but according to author Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, rice pies are just as classic and in her estimation, taste better. Eriquez had been making wheat pies for years when she had some extra dough a while back and used it to make a rice pie. "My family went berserk. They went crazy for it!" said Eriquez with a laugh. "Rice is more tender. It has a nicer taste than wheat," she explained. "If you give my family a choice, they're going to ask for the rice before the wheat." The pastry dough,pasta frolla, is delicate and tears easily, so if it softens, quickly chill it in the freezer for a few minutes. And don't worry about the tears; they patch easily.

Ingredients

Makes 12 servings

For pastry dough:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

For filling:

3/4 cup Arborio rice
4 cups water
5 large egg yolks, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound ricotta (preferably fresh orhomemade; 2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Accompaniment:

  1. Make pastry dough:

    Step 1

    Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add eggs and pulse until just incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.

    Step 2

    Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form into a thick log. Cut off 2/3 of the log and form into a large rectangle for the bottom of the pie. Form the remaining piece into a smaller rectangle for the top of the pie. Chill each, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.

  2. Make filling:

    Step 3

    Bring rice and well-salted water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well.

    Step 4

    搅拌在一起3耐热的bo蛋黄和糖wl, then whisk in cornstarch and flour until smooth (mixture will be very thick). Bring milk just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, then gradually add hot milk to yolk mixture, whisking.

    Step 5

    Pour custard back into saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly (custard will become very thick), then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with wax paper, until cold, about 2 hours.

    Step 6

    Stir together ricotta, custard, and remaining 2 yolks, then stir in zests, cinnamon, salt, and cooked rice.

  3. Assemble and bake pie:

    Step 7

    Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with an overlapping double layer of foil, leaving 2 inches of overhang on both ends, then generously butter foil.

    Step 8

    Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 15- by 11-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). If dough becomes soft, chill or freeze until firm. Remove top sheet of wax paper and invert into baking pan, fitting it into pan. Chill shell. Roll out remaining piece of dough between sheets of wax paper in same manner. Cut 12 (3/4-inch-wide) crosswise strips (you will have a little dough left over).

    Step 9

    Spread filling in pan and arrange 6 strips, 1 1/4 inches apart, diagonally across filling, trimming ends to fit. Arrange remaining 6 strips, 1 1/4 inches apart, diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim lattice to fit in pan, then fold outside crust down over filling to make a border. Brush pastry with beaten egg.

    Step 10

    Bake pie until pastry is golden and filling is puffed and set, about 1 1/2 hours, loosely covering top of pie with foil after 50 minutes to prevent over-browning. Transfer to a rack to cool. When completely cool, lift pie out of pan using foil overhang and transfer to a platter.

Cooks' notes:

Pastry dough can be chilled up to 1 day.

Rice can be cooked 1 day ahead and chilled.

Custard can be made (but not combined with ricotta) 1 day ahead and chilled.

Pie can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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  • I made this pie for Easter. It looked great and was delicious. Just a note however. If you grew up with the tradition of Easter pies, this recipe may not be what you're expecting. This tasted like, and had the texture of the wheat pies I grew up with. I think there are simpler recipes, without the custard, that yield a different type of traditional rice pie. Although delicious, this pie was not what I was expecting.

    • Anonymous

    • Virginia

    • 4/24/2019

  • I would give this a 3 1/2 fork. Like previous reader I prepared all of the elements one day ahead and baked it early Easter morning so that it would be ready for lunch. The pie looked exactly as in the picture. Nice, subtle flavour. The crust was excellent. Delicious with the strawberries.

    • Colettestp

    • Montreal, Canada

    • 4/6/2015

  • I live in Naples and the Pastiera is my preferred Easter cake. I have learned to make it from my grandmother. The last week I have prepared a delicious variant of this cake by using a nut cream to make the Pastiera more suitable to children too. I have written this version at http://www.ricettedalmondo.it/pastiera-alla-nutella.html Have a nice day ;-) Marianna

    • RicetteDalMondo

    • Naples, Italy

    • 3/31/2015

  • I saw this recipe featured and had to make it for nostalgic reasons. I was a huge fan of Gourmet (I bought every magazine from 1978 to the end) and my Italian family had always made some version of the Ricotta Pie at Easter. The recipe came out great and looked just like the photo. I made the custard, rice and pastry dough at night and then put it together and baked it the next morning. I had no trouble with the crust, except I would like to clarify that the first piece you roll out to 15"x11" should be the larger 2/3 piece and the second 1/3 piece should be rolled out to about a 9"x9" square for lattice strips. The recipe was easy to follow and looked gorgeous when done. I can't wait to serve it tomorrow. Thanks Gourmet, you are truly a gift that keeps giving!

    • jdtorosian

    • Mount Laurel NJ

    • 4/19/2014

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