Risi e Bisi

Name: Risi e Bisi (Venetian Rice and Peas)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; ½ cup chopped fresh parsley; 8 cups good-quality simmering beef, veal, vegetable, or chicken broth; 1¾ cups risotto rice such as Vialone Nano Gigante; 2 oz pancetta, chopped; 2½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; ½ mild, sweet onion, chopped fine; 2¼ lb sweet tender young fresh peas or 4 cups frozen petit pois, thawed; about 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Venetian Rice and Peas

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Classic Italian Cooking

By Valentina Harris

Published 2008

About

This recipe is cooked in the traditional way of making risotto, without frying the rice in fat at the beginning of the recipe. The end result is more like a very thick soup rather than a risotto. Not all recipes call for pancetta, but in my opinion it adds flavor.

Ingredients

2¼ lb sweet tender young fresh peas or 4 cups frozen petit pois, thawed
2½

Europe
Italy
Side dish
Venice
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Method

If you are using fresh peas, shell all the peas carefully and rinse them quickly in cold water.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy pan. Add the onion and pancetta and fry for about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and stir. Fry gently for an additional 4 minutes. Add the peas and stir thoroughly.
Add just enough broth to barely cover and simmer very