Categories

A smiling woman with long brown hair rests her hands on a cookbook titled Never Say Never to Dolce, which features her photo on the cover. A silver vase with orange flowers sits on the counter in front of her.

Cookbooks

Never Say Never to Dolce

A brand-new collection of 50 approachable homemade desserts – from iconic Cannoli to Dolci al Cucchiaio and more – that proves there’s always room for a little sweetness.

Manuela’s Sweet Temptations

A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.

The Complete Italian Cookbook: Essential Regional Cooking of Italy

A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.

Learn More

Traditional Pastiera di Riso – Italian Rice and Ricotta Pie

This Pastiera di Riso is a classic Easter Italian pie made with sweet and delicate rice and ricotta, flavored with orange zest and cinnamon, in a buttery shortcrust pastry.

Print Recipe
Indulge in the enchanting flavors of Italy this Easter with a delightful treat—Pastiera di Riso. This sweet Italian rice and ricotta pie is similar to the classic and authentic Pastiera Napoletana, but it’s made with rice in place of cooked wheat, which is not readily available here in the US as it is in Italy.
Infused with the zesty essence of oranges and a hint of warming cinnamon, Pastiera di Riso holds a special place on the Easter dessert table, particularly in the sun-kissed regions of southern Italy. 
  
This recipe is not the easiest as many of my other recipes, But I bet, once you try this dessert, you will want to make it any time of the year. 

It requires three main steps. Making the crust, making the filling, and assembling the pie.

Make the crust: 

You can use a food processor for this step or make it by hand. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter (cold from the fridge, cut into pieces) and quickly process into the flour to cut into small pieces. Beat the egg and egg yolk in a small bowl and mix quickly until the dough comes together. 
If the dough is still a little crumbly and too dry, add a little of the extra egg white (just one teaspoon at a time or so) until the dough comes together. 
Divide the dough into two parts: a large piece (about 3/4 of the dough) that will be used as the base of the pie and a smaller piece (1/4) used to decorate the top of the pie. Make the two pieces into two discs, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Make the filling:

Cut a large strip of lemon peel and one of orange peel. Save the rest of the lemon and orange for the grated zest later.
In a large saucepan, add the milk, rice, salt, and strips of lemon and orange peel. Simmer and cook until the milk is absorbed and the rice is cooked al dente. When the milk is almost absorbed, you will need to mix more often to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Move the cooked rice to a glass bowl, mix in the extracts, remove the peel, and let cool.
Mix the remaining of the filling ingredients in another large mixing bowl. Fluff the rice with a fork and add some at a time to the ricotta and egg mixture. Make sure to mix gently to break down clumps of rice.

Assemble the pie:

Roll out the dough and place it in a springform or deep dish pie pan, spray or grease with butter and flour.
To transfer it to the baking dish, help yourself with the rolling pin and roll it up and out over the baking dish. If the dough breaks at any point, it can easily be fixed and patched with your fingers and extra pieces of dough if needed. Refrigerate for a little longer if it’s too hard to work with. Fill the pastiera with the filling and decorate with a lattice design.
Bake in the lower third of the oven until golden on top.
Make sure to let the pastiera cool down before slicing and enjoying the first bite!

Suggestions when making this Pastiera di Riso:

  • To make this recipe gluten-free, please substitute the dough recipe with your favorite gluten-free pie crust.
  • Choose Arborio rice for this type of pie. It’s creamy and will give this dessert the perfect consistency.
  • This recipe calls for one lemon and two oranges. Cut a large strip from one lemon and one orange to cook with the rice. Make sure the piece is big so it will be easier to remove when the rice is cooked. The rest of the lemon and orange zest will be used in the filling.
  • When adding the cold rice to the ricotta mixture, fluff the rice with a fork to break the bigger lumps and add some of the rice at a time, to ensure that the rice is fully incorporated into the filling.
  • For this recipe, I used an 8 1/2-inch springform pan, but you can use anything between 8 and 9 1/2 inches. Smaller is the pan, thicker is the pie. I like springform pans for easy removal at the end.
 

How to Store Pastiera di Riso

You can store the pastiera in the fridge for up to five days. This dessert can also be frozen by wrapping it in plastic wrap and then in tin foil. Thaw at room temperature and enjoy.
My NEW Cookbook
 

Other Italian dessert recipes you might like:

Traditional Pastiera di Riso – Italian Rice and Ricotta Pie

0, 0 rating(s)

This Pastiera di Riso is a classic Easter Italian pie made with sweet and delicate rice and ricotta, flavored with orange zest and cinnamon, in a buttery shortcrust pastry.

Servings:

10

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

60 min

Resting Time

30

Total Time

2 hr,

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 oz (115 g) unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 1/4 cups (535 ml) whole milk
  • 1 cup (180 g) arborio rice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lemon, peel and zest
  • 2 oranges, peel and zest
  • 1 strip orange peel
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
  • 15 oz (425 g) ricotta cheese, drained
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. To make the dough: Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and the butter cut into small cubes to a food processor. Pulse until you get a coarse crumb. Lightly beat the egg and egg yolks and add to the mixture. Pulse some more until the dough comes together. If the dough is still too crumbly, add a little of the extra egg white and pulse some more. ALTERNATIVELY, if you don’t have a food processor, in a large mixing bowl, add the flour and cold butter cut into cubes. With the tip of a knife or a pastry cutter cut the butter into the flour until you get a coarse crumb mixture with pea-size butter pieces. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (sugar, salt, and baking powder) and mix some more. Beat the whole egg and egg yolk lightly and add. Mix with a fork or spoon, and knead with your hand when needed until the dough comes together into a smooth ball.
  2. Form the dough into two disks, one large and one small (about 3/4 and 1/4 of the dough). Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.
  3. To cook the rice: In a large saucepan, add milk, rice, a pinch of salt, one large strip of lemon peel, and one strip of orange peel. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once the milk starts to simmer, lower the heat to low, cover slightly, and stir to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 15 more minutes or until the milk is absorbed and the rice is cooked but still al dente (it will cook more in the oven later). Transfer to a glass bowl, mix in the vanilla and orange extract, and let cool.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease an 8 or 9-inch springform pan or deep pie dish with butter and flour or baking spray.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat well with a whisk or mixer. Add the ricotta (drained in a fine mesh colander to remove any liquid) and mix some more. Add cinnamon and the finely grated zest of the remaining lemon and oranges, and mix.
  6. Remove the orange and lemon peels from the rice, fluff with a fork to break up the clumps, and add them to the mixture some at a time while gently mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  7. Roll the larger dough disc into a circle about 11 or 12 inches wide and transfer it to the prepared baking pan, covering the sides of the pan, too, with dough. If the dough breaks while transferring, you can easily fix it with your fingers. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Pour the prepared filling. Roll out the remaining dough and cut it into strips. Place the strips on top of the pie in a lattice. Seal the edges with a fork, removing any extra dough if needed. If the dough is too fragile to work with, roll it out and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  8. Bake the pastiera in the lower third of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool and come to room temperature before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like.

Explore more recipes