risi e bisi (rice with peas)
rating:
I'd love to try this, but Pete has a great fondness for fresh peas and is likely to snarf them before I could get them in the pot. But it sounds lovely - so fresh.
serves 4
900g fresh peas in the pod
1.5 litres chicken stock
3 tbsp olive oil
50g pancetta, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
225g risotto rice (e.g. arborio or carnaroli)
15g butter
a small handful of parsley leaves, chopped
25g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt and black pepper
shell the peas, keeping the pods. You're looking for about 175g of actual peas.
put the stock into a pan with the pea pods, bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a clean pan, pressing out all the liquid with the back of a wooden spoon, and keep hot.
heat the olive oil in a medium sized pan, add pancetta and onion, and fry gently until the onion is soft. Add stock and rice, bring to the boil, and simmer very gently for about 15 minutes, stirring one or twice.
stir in the peas and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Then stir in the butter, parsley and parmesan, and season to taste. Eat with a spoon.
Looks perfect - but I suffer badly from Pete's problem: I can't leave fresh peas alone, and eat them by the kilo.