Venetian Rice and Peas
A dish for green things
Hi folks! Thanks for sticking with me as I took some time off. I moved to a new kitchen (which also comes with the rest of the apartment), so I’ve been adjusting my cooking habits to a new set of appliances and cabinet spaces. But New York real estate developers have thoughtfully crammed everything into a small galley floorplan, so I’ve quickly brought myself up to speed.
Outside the kitchen, things are happening: the greenmarket is getting greener, and a bounty of spring produce is rolling in from the hinterlands. Ramps are the star of the season, and you should go crazy with them if you can — I’d recommend my ramp pasta recipe, which is my favorite dish to make with them. But there are others: spring onions and green garlic are underrated, quite frankly, and English peas are just starting to appear. With these, I love making risi e bisi.
Risi e bisi is a Venetian stew of rice and peas, typically made with the earliest, sweetest spring peas of the season. It’s a bit like risotto, but it is assuredly not a risotto, as anybody from Venice would tell you; it’s intended to be soupier, with a prominent broth. The broth is best, I think, when you blend the leftover pea pods into freshly-made chicken stock, and then strain assiduously. It leaves you with a green juice, of sorts, but one that is earthier and deeper than any kale purée. You cook the rice in that, adding the fresh peas and stirring in a minty salsa verde at the last moment.
If you don’t have fresh peas, you can absolutely use frozen peas; I would recommend, however, that you stick to Carnaroli or Arborio rice (preferably the former, as it’s technically not a risotto). This is a great thing to cook in the early, chillier months of spring, and it’s supremely comforting.
Lastly, two quick plugs: if you’re in the NYC area on May 19th and want to try some of my cooking, I’ll be popping up at Layla in Williamsburg from 4 to 10 PM; reservations can be made here. And while we have sold out of my EVOO with Primis Imports, you can join the waitlist for our next release here.
Risi e Bisi
Ingredients
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
2-3 stalks green garlic and/or spring onions, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen peas; if fresh, blanch the peas in their pods and reserve the pods
1 handful mint, finely chopped
1 handful parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Make the broth: heat the chicken stock over medium heat. Once hot, add the reserved pea pods (as many as can fit in the pot). Cook for 5-6 minutes until they begin to soften. Remove the stock from the heat and blend with an immersion blender until as smooth as possible. Strain and reserve; keep the broth on the heat while cooking the rice.
Make the salsa verde: in a food processor, blend the mint and parsley with olive oil and a pinch of salt until smooth. Reserve.
Set a pot over medium-high heat and add a generous amount of olive oil. Add the spring onions and/or green garlic and cook until they’ve softened.
Add the rice and toast in the oil for approx. 3 minutes, until it is beginning to turn translucent.
Add about a third of hot broth to the rice and stir, keeping it on medium-high heat. The dish does not need to be tended to quite as carefully as risotto, as you want it to be brothier and more al dente. I would recommend adding the broth in thirds and stirring every so often to release the starches of the rice, but not thickening it too much.
Once you’ve added all of the broth, continue to cook and stir. It should take about 20 minutes; test the rice for doneness. Add a bit of water if it becomes too thick, and salt to taste.
Once the rice is done, stir in the peas; if using frozen, allow them to cook until they’re thawed and bright green. If using fresh, simply warm them. At the last moment, stir in the salsa verde.
Garnish with grated cheese (optional).