Risi E Bisi

Photo: Carmelita Caruana

Ingredients

1 inch kilo (2.2 pounds) fresh peas the pod (or use sugar snap peas)

200 grams (7 ounces) Vialone Nano rice

50 grams unsalted butter

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive oil

50 grams (1 and ¾ ounces or 3 and ½ tablespoons) Grana Padano cheese

6 spring onions (scallions)

salt, freshly ground black pepper

2 very thin slices of rolled pancetta (or substitute 1 slice cured but not smoked

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

First of all make the pea pod stock. Shell the peas and collect them in a bowl for later, and reserve the pods. Discard any pods which are blemished.

Rinse the pods and place them in 1.5 boiling water salted with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook till pods just soften, not too long so they stay bright green.

It is easiest to strain the pods off and just use their cooking water made up to 1 litre, but for a special day, whiz the pods in a food processor first (easier than using a hand held blender which is also possible) and then patiently push through a very fine sieve to eliminate stringy bits and to get a beautiful velvety puree to add to the dish. An easier alternative is to cook and puree some of the peas.

While the stock is boiling, prepare the remaining ingredients. Peel the spring onions and slice thinly, using some of the green part. Dice the pancetta very fine. Both these ingredients should melt away and not be discernible in the finished dish. Grate the Grana Padano cheese very fine so that it melts into the "risotto soup" when you add it. Wash the parsley if using , strip the leaves from the stalks and chop fine.

When the stock is ready, place the spring onions and pancetta in a large saucepan with half the butter and all the olive oil, and soften them on a gentle heat with a little water for a few minutes till well wilted.

Before they colour, add the peas and a couple of ladles of the pea pod stock. Season with salt and only if needed (taste a raw pea) a pinch or up to 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and simmer on very low heat for 3 - 10 minutes according to size and tenderness of the peas.

Add the rice and all the stock at once and cook on moderate heat for 12 minutes. Add the pea pod or pea puree and cook a further 3 minutes.

When the rice is cooked, take the pot off the heat and whip in the remaining butter. Grind over a little black pepper and add the grated cheese and stir well. Add the chopped parsley if using and stir again.

Pour into a soup tureen and serve in bowls, or ladle into bowls directly from the pot.

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About

I look forward every year to the first fresh peas and to making Risi e Bisi. This delectable spring dish was once served with great pomp and ceremony to the Magnificent Doge of Venice - the elected head of the powerful city state - on the 25th of April, the feast of the patron saint of the city, San Marco. This was traditionally the day when the very first peas of the season went on sale in the Rialto market.

Venice is one of the rice growing regions of Italy along with parts of Lombardy and the Piedmont. The Primo course, which precedes the main or protein course, is usually risotto here rather than pasta, though polenta is also popular in the colder months. A Veneto risotto is wetter than its Lombardy and Piedmont counterparts; the lagoon dwelling Venetians insist should be "all'onda" meaning it should form a crested wave when you tip the plate to one side and then the other. Risi e Bisi is wetter still and it is not a risotto, its preparation does not follow the classic risotto procedures. It looks like a risotto that is wetter than "all'onda", more liquid and definitely pourable, so it is a soup, a soup thick with rice, and it is eaten with a spoon not a fork.

There used to be a rich man's version made with the addition of goose foie gras, but it is the simple recipe which has survived the test of time. Today the fois gras version is unknown while the one below is loved and revered throughout the Veneto and beyond.

If your peas are very sweet and tender, do not simmer them with the spring onions but add them after the rice has been cooking about 13 minutes.