Torta di Riso alla Lunigiana Toscana

Ingredients

• For the shortcrust pastry
• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch fine salt
• For the rice filling
• 200 g short-grain rice, arborio or vialone nano
• 1 litre full-fat milk
• 150 g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten, added only once rice is cooled
• 1 lemon, zest only, finely grated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp rum, optional, for the Lunigiana festive version
• To finish
• 20 g icing sugar, dusted generously over the surface before baking

Method

1. 1
   Make the shortcrust pastry. Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, then the egg, and bring the dough together with minimal handling. Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it holds its shape without cracking at the edges.
2. 2
   Combine the rice, milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan over a moderate flame. Cook, stirring regularly, until the milk is almost entirely absorbed and the mixture is thick and creamy. This is not a risotto — do not add liquid in stages; allow the full absorption to happen in one slow cook. The filling is ready when a spoon drawn through the centre leaves a channel that closes slowly.
3. 3
   Spread the cooked rice mixture on a wide tray or bowl and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. This step is where the dish lives or dies: adding eggs to warm rice causes partial scrambling, which produces a grainy, uneven custard that cannot be corrected in the oven. The rice must be cold to the touch before the eggs are introduced.
4. 4
   Once the rice is cold, fold in the beaten eggs, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and rum if using. Mix until fully homogeneous. The filling should be dense and spoonable, not pourable.
5. 5
   Roll the rested pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2 mm thickness — no thicker. Line a 26–28 cm tart tin with the pastry, pressing it into the edges without stretching. Trim the excess cleanly at the rim. A thick shell is an error: the tart is meant to be predominantly filling.
6. 6
   Spoon the rice filling into the pastry shell and spread it level. Dust the surface generously with icing sugar — it will melt into the top during baking and form a caramel crust. Bake at 170 °C until the top is evenly golden and the centre barely wobbles when the tin is nudged. Remove from the oven; the filling will set fully as it cools to room temperature.
7. 7
   Allow the tart to cool completely in the tin before unmoulding. Slice and serve at room temperature. The interior should be firmer than a crème brûlée but softer than a cake — neither liquid nor dry at the cut face.