Grain pie has been a long held Easter tradition in Italian households. I had never made it, but Frank was asking for it this year, so I decided to give it a try. I found recipes for both wheat and rice pies in Aunt Helen’s old recipe books.

In the fashion of someone who jotted down recipes as more of a memory jog than detailed instructions, Helen’s recipe started with “Cook 1 cup rice.” Well, if you cook one cup of rice, you’ll end up with double that amount which looked like too much for the recipe. After searching the internet for other rice pie recipes, I settled on 1 cup cooked rice as appropriate. Her recipe also neglected to mention sugar. Back to the internet. Rice pie definitely needs sugar. I added a cup. I also cooked the rice with a tiny pinch of salt.

Aunt Helen’s recipe for Rice Pie, adapted:

1 cup cooked rice
1 pound whole milk ricotta
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all ingredients well. Pour into a lined pie pan. Top with lattice design. Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.