ItalianCookingTips:
“Risi e Bisi” just need fresh peas. If you don’t have it, you can use frozen peas. Prepare a vegetable broth with carrot, onion, celery and potato in which to cook the rice. The result is not as good but still acceptable
Risi e Bisi (Rice and Peas)
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Loading..."Risi e Bisi" is an ancient recipe that is handed down from father to son between Venice, Mantua and Verona, in Veneto. It is really interesting because it shows us the respect that, in the past, was given to the ingredients: in fact, fresh peas are shelled and the skins are not thrown away but are used to give flavor to the broth in which rice is cooked. "Risi e Bisi" is a simple, poor risotto, with a fresh and delicate flavor, completely different from the famous "Milanese risotto" which is cooked in meat broth and embellished with the most expensive spice, saffron. If you find fresh peas at the market, buy them now, run and make "Risi e Bisi"
Ingredients
- 500 gr of italian Rice for risotto "Vialone"
- 500 gr of fresh peas to be shelled
- 2 teaspoons of granulated vegetable broth
- 1 onion
- 4 slices of sweet pancetta
- parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
You know that rice must cook in a liquid. Broth is better than water and, in this case, we will use the pods of peas to make a lovely “green potion” that will give extra flavor to your “risotto”
Shell the peas and put the pots (very well washed) to cook for 30 minutes in 1 lt of boiling water with 2 teaspoons of vegetable granulated broth
Saving the liquid, drain off the pots and mash them in a purée (using a purée sieve strainer / food mill) that you will add to the broth of have your “green potion”
Finely slice the onion and cut the pancetta in little pieces. Cook together into a skillet with a couple of spoons of extra virgin olive oil
Add the rice and toast it for about 2 minutes, until you will see the grains become translucent
At this point the “fondo”* is ready: continue to cook rice adding the peas broth, one ladle at a time, and mixing often. You will need about 15 minutes to have the rice soften
Add the raw peas and leave them to cook for more 5 minutes to have a “risotto” very soft and smooth but not watery
Take out from heat, add the butter and freshly grated parmesan, taste and add salt if necessary (broth, pancetta and parmesan are savory…)
Cover with a lid and leave to rest for 5 more minutes during which the peas will finish to cook perfectly
Tip! To cook “risotto” is an art of balance: add liquid when it is strictly necessary (to avoid the rice to stick to the bottom of the pot) of the and follow the cooking mixing often
Tip! Do not forget that the rice and the other ingredients will continue to cook for a while out of heat: stop to cook your “risotto” a couple of minutes in advance and leave to rest covered before serving
*fondo = “background” of ingredients where the rice is cooked. It is important to make it perfectly because it give flavor to “risotto”
Notes
Italy is famous for its pasta, but we also produce excellent rice grown in the "Po Valley", a triangle of flat land crossed by the river Po, which irrigates the land and creates the perfect conditions for rice cultivation. We have 4 types of rice (original, semi-fine, fine and superfine) which differ in the size of the grain and the amount of starch it contains. For risottos, it is always better to use Vialone, a "Semifino" rice, which has a perfect grain for soups and soupy rice.
ItalianCookingTips:
There is a real, important rule for cooking Italian rice: follow the cooking at all times with love and passion: add the liquid when necessary and mix continuously. Making risotto is a real art.
I suggest you click on https://www.melotti.it/ to find (and buy online) some of the best Italian rice at km 0
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