Pastiera di Riso (Italian Easter Rice Pie)

Pastiera di Riso is a sweet Italian rice pie served at Easter. It's similar to a pastiera napoletana, but some would say it tastes even better!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 15

Servings people

Calories 387kcal

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder.
Add eggs, egg yolks and butter. Mix on medium speed until large, moist crumbs start to form (about 2-3 minutes).
Remove dough from the bowl and with your hands on a smooth surface, gently form the dough into a ball.
Wrap the dough in saran wrap and place in the fridge for approximately 1 hour.

Add the rice and water to a pot, and over medium heat, let them come to a boil.
Once rice and water have started to boil, cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.
At this point, add the milk, sugar, orange peel and cinnamon sticks.
Still on medium heat, cook the rice mixture for 30 minutes, stirring often so that the rice doesn't stick to the pot, until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid has absorbed. If rice is cooking too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.
At this point, remove the orange peel and cinnamon sticks.
Turn heat down to low, add butter to the rice, and cook for 7-10 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed and the mixture is dense in consistency.
Add the rice to a shallow square dish, level it out, and cover with saran wrap. Let it cool.
If your ricotta is very moist and has a lot of liquid in it, drain it with a colander.
In a big bowl, add ricotta, beaten eggs, fior d'arancio, and cinnamon. Mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until all ingredients are combined.
Once the rice mixture has cooled completely, add it to the ricotta mixture, slowly, a few spoons at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until the rice is fully incorporated into the mixture. Set the filling aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease your pie dish with butter, and then coat with a thin layer of flour.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough a few times to soften it. Then roll it out until it's about ½ cm thick.
Transfer the dough to the pie dish, and cut off any hanging edges. Fill with the filling.
Decorate the top of the pastiera with a lattice design. The lattices should sit gently on top of the dough.
Bake the pastiera for approximately 60 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let the pastiera cool and come to room temperature, top with powdered sugar if desired, and enjoy!

Arborio rice is the best rice to use for this type of pie, since it is creamy and will give a great consistency to the pie
When peeling the orange, try to keep the peels as large as possible, since you will be removing the peels from the rice mixture. They will be easier to remove this way.
When cooking the rice, make sure stir often so it doesn't stick to the pot.
When mixing in the rice with the ricotta, it's important to add the rice in slowly (a few spoonfuls at a time) - this will make it easier to mix it in and ensure it gets incorporated evenly.
This pastiera tastes best once it has cooled and come to room temperature.
This recipe was made in a 9 inch springform metal pan, so the filling amounts are suited to a dish of this size.
I used quite a deep springform pan to make the pastiera, but if the pan used isn't that deep, there's a chance that the filling can overflow when baking. To mitigate this you can put the pan on a baking sheet to catch the filling, just in case it spills over.