With only a few days until Easter, I’ve decided to try and recreate a Savory Rice Pie my grandmother used to make when I was young. My grandmother was from Molise Italy, I am sure her recipe was a variation of a traditional Easter recipe made in her childhood home. I have created this Easter Pie from my memory of her recipe. I hope you like it…..I think it’s pretty good!!!
Rice Pie with Ham and Ricotta Cheese
This Rice Pie can be served as an appetizer, a luncheon entree or for dinner served hot or at room temperature
Ingredients
-1 puff pastry round large enough to come up the side of a 9″ springform pan
-1 cup of boiled ham ask the deli to cut 1/4″ slices and then you can cut that into 1/4″x1/4″ cubes
-2 cups of cooked, drained rice, arborio, vialone nanone or carnaroli rice, these three are high starch firm textured rices
-2 scallions diced finely
-1 cup of Ricotta Cheese
-4 large eggs
-1 tbls extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated
-1/4 cup Imported Pecorino Romano grated
-3/4 tsp marjoram
-Sea Salt fine grain and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions
-Preheat oven to 375 F
-In a nonstick pan add the olive oil, the scallions and the diced ham, saute until the scallions become translucent, add fresh ground pepper, let cool
-Bring a pasta pot of water to boil and add sea salt and 1 cup of uncooked rice (should yield 2 cups) cook 12 minutes and drain.
-In a mixing bowl add the ricotta cheese, the eggs, the parmesan and pecorino cheeses mix well
-Into the egg ricotta cheese mixture add the ham and scallions, the cooked rice, the marjoram and sea salt
-Drape the puff pastry into a 9″inch springform pan, I use parchment paper under my pastry.
-Pour the mixture into the puff pastry and fold the sides over the top of the filling
-If you like you can use an egg wash and brush over the pastry before baking
-Bake in conventional oven approximately 35 minutes, in a convection oven 25 minutes.
-The pie will be golden brown and a knife inserted will come out clean
-When cool open the spring pan, and remove the side place carefully on a serving plate
-Buon Appetito