Once again we had an Asparagus appetizer. In the spring I
don’t seem to get sick of eating these delicious green stalks. You can do many
things with them. It is all about the topping.
Keeping with the idea of a green dinner we made a favorite
spring dinner: Rici-e-Bici. This soup like dish is like a brother in law to
risotto, however it is much soupier. We used the recipe from: Bugialli’s
Italy by Giuliano Bugialli
RISI
E BISI Rice and Teas Venetian Style
Makes
6 servings
Bugialli’s
Italy by Giuliano Bugialli
For The
Broth:
4 pounds snow peas or, if
using fresh peas for the dish, 4 pound of the pods of the peas
16 cups cold water
1 medium-size carrot, scraped and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium-size stalk celery, cut into large piece
1 very small clove garlic, peeled
5 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only
Coarse-grained salt
For The
Rice:
4 – 6 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, in one piece
1 medium-size cipollotto (Venetian white onion) or yellow
onion, cleaned
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) sweet butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium-size clove garlic (optional), peeled
15 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only
1 pound very small, sweet fresh peas or frozen "tiny
tender" peas, not defrosted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup raw short-grain rice, preferably Vialone or
Italian Arborio
To Serve:
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sweet butter
6 tablespoons freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Sprigs fresh Italian parsley
Wash the snow peas or pea pods
very well under cold running water. In a large pot bring the cold water to a
boil with the snow peas or pods, carrot, celery, garlic, and parsley over
medium heat. While boiling, add coarse salt to taste, reduce the heat to
medium-low, and simmer for SO minutes. Strain the broth and discard all the
vegetables.
Finely grind the pancetta or prosciutto in a meat grinder
and coarsely chop the onion on a cutting board. Place the butter and olive oil
in a medium-size casserole set over low heat. When the butter is melted, add
the pancetta or prosciutto, onion, and garlic clove, if used. Saute slowly for
about IS minutes, then add the parsley and mix very well, then add the fresh or
still frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium, add 1
cup of the vegetable broth, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic
and discard. Pour in 5 cups of the broth and when
it reaches a boil, add the rice. Mix very well, reduce the
heat to medium-low, and simmer for 18 minutes. Be sure to have enough broth in
the casserole for the rice to absorb to cook completely, with a tiny amount of
liquid left; the final texture should be something between a real risotto and a
thick bean soup. Remove the casserole from the heat, add the butter and cheese,
and mix very well. (Mantecare—to churn—is the word used to describe the
movement of absorbing the butter and the cheese into the rice.) Serve with the
Italian parsley.
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