Read the latest gardening and allotment articles ..... or write your own for everyone else to enjoy! They can be anything from gardening tips or book reviews to your favourite recipes.
"Risi e Bisi" - Risotto with peas, a Venetian dish.
3 - 4 people (depending on the size of their appetites!)
What do I do?
This dish is even more delicious if topped with generous amounts of grated Parmesan and coarse ground black pepper.
My top tips
Serves approx. 900gm peas in the pod (or approx. 300-400gm shelled peas)
100gm ham or lean smoked bacon
1 onion
50gm butter/Benecol
2 cups of rice - approx. 400gm (preferably Arborio or Carnaroli)
1.5 - 2 litres of chicken stock
grated Parmesan cheese
What Do I Need?
- Melt the butter/Benecol in a pan and add the chopped onion. After it starts to colour add the chopped bacon or ham and let it blend together for a few minutes. Next add the peas, and gently stir the ingredients, making sure that the peas are impregnated with the butter. Add a cupful of the hot stock to the mixture and when it starts to bubble add the rice - Arborio or Carnaroli are the best to use as they give a very creamy texture to the dish. Add about 500-600ml of stock to the mix and allow the rice to cook in it - try to avoid stirring too much (so that the peas do not disintegrate), but don't let it stick! As the stock becomes absorbed keep adding more to the mix until the rice is cooked - the length of time will be dependent on whether you prefer your rice "al dente" or well cooked. Just before serving, stir in the remainder of the butter/Benecol and grated Parmesan cheese.
- This dish should be served and eaten as soon as it has been cooked. The consistency is meant to be slightly more liquid than a traditional risotto.
- Buon appetito!
Comments
Message from Adrian
Posted on 03rd September 2008
Hi Patty, this sounds delicious. I am going to try it out on my daughter - and myself, of course!.
Please log in to post a comment
