Risi e Bisi

Risotto is a typical Venetian dish that can be made in several different ways with a combination of local Italian ingredients. The most famous recipe is undoubtedly risi e bisi, a risotto with peas and cooked with dried onion. The dish is completed with salt, pepper and parsley.

Risi e Bisi

Ingredients

4 servings:

  • 320 g of peas (shelled weight);
  • 1 white onion;
  • 4 sprigs of parsley;
  • 2 litres of chicken stock;
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil;

 

  • salt to taste;
  • 320 g of Vialone Nano rice;
  • 30 g of butter;
  • 30 g of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese;
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Shell the peas. Peel the onion and chop it very finely. Wash the parsley, cut the leaves and finely chop them with the crescent on a cutting board. Heat the broth.

In a soup pot, put the oil and onion and cook over medium heat until they are golden brown.

Add the peas and mix. Add a pinch of salt and the chopped parsley, cook for a few minutes on a high flame and then add a ladle of broth. Wait for it to boil, then lower the heat, cover and cook 10 minutes on medium heat. Add more broth if the cooking surface dries out too much.

After the cooking time, uncover and dry any excess liquid, then add the rice.

Cook the rice, stirring for one minute, then add 4-5 ladles of boiling broth and set the timer according to the minutes of cooking for the type of rice you are using (usually 15-18 minutes).

Continue by adding the broth as it is absorbed, stirring occasionally, without letting the mixture dry out too much, otherwise it won’t cook properly..

When the rice is cooked, al dente, turn off the heat, add the butter in small pieces, the Parmesan, a generous amount of ground pepper and mix until completely absorbed, adding as much broth as needed to make the rice soft.

Leave to rest for a minute and serve.

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Ospitalità Italiana is an official certification from Unioncamere, Italy’s federation of local Chambers of Commerce and Industry, that tells you that the food you are enjoying is unquestionably Italian: products are authentic, ingredients genuine and recipes true to the thousand year history of Italian cuisine.

Canada is home to some leading Italian Chefs. Passionate and innovative, many have refined their skills and advanced their knowledge directly in Italy. In addition, Montréal boasts a fabulous cooking school ITHQ where young aspiring chefs learn Italian technic and Italian traditional recipes from the masters.

So the next time you make reservations for an Italian dinner in a Montreal restaurant, ask if they’ve received the Ospitalità Italiana seal of approval. You will enjoy the true Italian taste.