Risi Bisi by Andy Needham, Zafferano
This dish from Venice is basically a risotto with peas. I’ve given precise quantities but when I
make risotto I find that 2 handfuls of rice per person gives an adequate portion. Serves 4
Ingredients:
80 g pancetta or bacon, cubed
30 g butter, plus a knob of butter for glazing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, roughly chopped
350 g fresh peas (frozen or canned can be used if
fresh are not available)
1 litre chicken stock
300 g risotto rice
chopped parsley
80 g Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fry the pancetta or bacon in the butter and oil. (A combination of butter and oil fries very
efficiently.) After about a minute add the onion to the pancetta and fry for a further 2 minutes
but don’t let the onion brown. Add the peas and moisten with a cupful of the stock. Cook this
gently for a further 6 minutes and then add the rice. All you want to do here is warm the rice
through for a minute, stirring it so that it gets coated with some of the oil and flavours from the
pancetta, then add the rest of the stock.
Turn the heat right down and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, until the rice is
cooked (usually about 20 minutes, though it can be quicker depending on the rice). Good risotto
rice will remain slightly al dente anyway. Add a little more liquid (water or stock) towards the
end if it starts to dry up and stick. When all the stock has been absorbed, taste for seasoning
and then stir in a knob of butter, some parsley to taste and the Parmesan to lift the flavour and
texture and add richness. Always serve risotto with wine, never with water: it is said that rice
grows in water and dies in wine.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster
