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