Rice pie (torta di riso) is an Italian dessert consisting of eggs, rice, ricotta cheese, and citrus. After baking, it becomes a bottom layer of chewy rice topped with a separate layer of creamy custard. In 1524, Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European to visit any part of Rhode Island. He came to what is now Block Island and named it "Luisa" after Louise of Savoy, Queen mother of France. Due to a mistake in surveying the land, the original name didn't stick. Since one of the six largest ancestry groups in the state is that of the Italians, eating rice pie is a celebratory Easter tradition which has stuck. My maternal grandmother who emigrated from Naples, Italy to Rhode Island made her "crustless" rice pies from memory as does my mother who finally scribbled the recipe on a card for posterity. I have merely reduced the ingredients from the original recipe to yield one pie rather than six, though this dessert is irresistible and begs indulgence throughout the year.
Ingredients for Crustless Rice Pie
9 eggs
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1 (32 oz.) ricotta cheese (may use skim, fat free, or reduced fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups light cream
1 cup cooked white rice ("River" for starchy consistency)
1 (15 ounce) can, crushed pineapple-drained; or the juice of two squeezed lemons with lemon zest (depending on your flavor preference for pineapple or lemon)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for dusting the top of the pie before placing in oven
Directions
1.Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, mixing well. Stir in ricotta and vanilla until smooth. Add cream and stir. Fold in cooked rice and either crushed pineapples or lemon juice/zest.
2.Pour mixture into a Crisco greased, lightly floured 9-1/2 by 13-1/2 in. Pyrex dish. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
3.Bake at 325 degrees F for one hour-top should be golden brown; toothpick test. Refrigerate until thoroughly cooled. Tastes best sliced and served at room temperature right from its baking dish.
Though pastry chefs at Italian bakeries rise to the occasion to follow their own tried and true recipes for baking rice pies, you might want to establish your own family tradition in the kitchen. Generations of Italian-Americans who settled in Rhode Island have done just that by whisking ingredients for a recipe celebrating a family who sticks together.
