Risi e Bisi

Wine: Coto De Imaz Rioja 2000

We started to see fresh peas at the Farmer’s Market and on menus. So we decided to build a dinner around fresh peas. That ALWAYS for us means Risi e Bisi. That is an Italian dish made from Pea Stock, Peas, Rice and Prosciutto.

On Sunday at the market we bought lots of unshelled peas and some freshly shelled ones. In addition, we went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake and Chris generously gave us the end of a piece of Prosciutto and we bought a couple of bottles of what Julian described as the “Fabled” Coto De Imaz to drink with the rici e bisi.

We definitely cooked the dinner in stages.

On Tuesday we made the Pea stock from the peas.

On Wednesday we ground the Prosciutto and cooked it with the garlic and onions. We then left it on the stove and we went to a wine tasting at Silverlake Wine, for a great high-end (for us) wine: Behrens & Hitchcock. We really enjoyed the wine, and bought a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2004, which we will save for a special night.

When we returned home, we heated up the remaining Cabbage Pizza as a first course and then proceeded to make the Risi e Bisi. We once again used the recipe in Bugialli’s Italy. The Risi e Bisi was great, and we look forward to the leftovers.

Once again for desert, we had the Carrot Cake from Literati II, that Martin had given us.

A perfect meal!