Risi e Bisi

Rice and peas kept soupy, with a broth made from the pods.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains parmesan whose rennet the source does not name, pork.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg peas in the pod, podded
• 300 g vialone nano rice
• 100 g pancetta, diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 60 g butter
• 80 g parmesan, grated
• a handful of parsley
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Method

1. SIMMER THE EMPTY PODS in 1.5 litres of salted water for 30 minutes, then push them through a sieve and keep the liquid. The pods are most of the flavour and throwing them away is the commonest way to make a dull version of this.
2. Cook the pancetta and onion in half the butter, 10 minutes.
3. Add the rice and let it take up the fat for 2 minutes, then start adding the hot pod broth.
4. Add the peas after 10 minutes, so they keep their colour.
5. KEEP IT SOUPY — all'onda and then some. This is not a risotto that happens to have peas in it: it is eaten with a spoon and should flood the plate rather than mound on it, so it takes noticeably more liquid.
6. 18 minutes in total. Beat in the rest of the butter and the parmesan off the heat.
7. Parsley, and serve at once in bowls.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes