Eva’s Byte #413 – An Easter Indulgence

While honoring the significance of Easter and spending time with family during dinner, my sweet indulgence is “rice pie”.

Rice pie (pastiera 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.

My maternal grandmother who emigrated from Naples, Italy to Rhode Island made her “crustless” rice pies from memory, as did 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.

Ingredients

9 eggs

1 ½ 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 Rice 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)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon for dusting the top of the pie before placing in oven

Directions

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.

Pour mixture into a Crisco greased, lightly floured 9 ½ by 13 ½ in. Pyrex dish. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Bake at 325 degrees F for one hour—top should be golden brown; toothpick test. Refrigerate until thoroughly cooled.

Tastes best served at room temperature right from its baking dish.

In the capacity of a writer, I’m hopping along the trail, drafting chapter 30 (347 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.

*May the Easter season grant each of us the means to indulge in hope and spiritual renewal.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco