Risi e Bisi

Risi e Bisi - Rice and Peas is a perfect springtime dish.  The word for peas is actually piselli but rise e bisi has a nice lilt. This Venetian classic is made with sweet, tender peas and short-grained rice.  In an earlier post I discussed polenta - a northern Italian favorite. But rice/risotto is equally popular. Rice is primarily grown in the Po River basin in the provinces of Piemonte, Lombardia and Veneto.  Italy is the largest producer of rice in Europe.

Note Piemonte, Lombardia and Veneto in the North.

Note the bed of the Po River right through those northern regions.

Italian Rice Paddies

Risi e Bisi is a soupier version of risotto, although you can make it drier if you like.  Venetian chefs suggest using Riso Vialone Nano Veronese- a variety of short pearls of rice.  The word nano means dwarf in Italian…like a nanosecond! 

Risi e Bisi

For 4 people
Ingredients:

1 cup of Riso Vialone Nano - or Arborio Rice

2 lb. of tender sweet peas in the pod.

1 quart of vegetable broth

2 ounces of pancetta

1/2 onion

1 small bunch of parsley

1 quart of vegetable broth

4 T. of butter.

Freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiana

1. Shell the peas, saving a large handful of tender pods.  
2. In a saucepan, cover the handful of pods with salted water and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Grate the onion, chop the pancetta and the parsley.
4. In a large saucepan melt 2 T. of butter, add the onion and the pancetta.
5. Meanwhile bring the vegetable broth to a simmer. 
6. When the onion is translucent, add the peas, 1/2 the parsley and a ladle full of broth.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile blend the pea pods with a 1/2 cup of their broth.
8. Pour the blended mixture through a sieve into the simmering vegetable broth.
9. Add the vegetable broth to the peas.  Add the rice and stir well.
10. Cook briskly, stirring often, until the rice is soft - about 15-20 minutes. Be careful the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
11. Stir in the remaining 2 T.  butter and the Grana Padano or Parmagiana.
12. Divide between four bowls.  Sprinkle with more cheese and the rest of the parsley.

Suggestions:  You could use about 2 cups of frozen peas and skip the pea pod mixture.