Risi e Bisi

The traditional cuisine in Veneto reserves thousands of secrets to bring out the qualities of rice and prepare excellent risotto. ‘Risi e Bisi’ could be easily classified as the most ancient and renowned local dish, born around the islands of the Republic of Venice. Actually some historians attribute ‘risi e bisi’ to the Byzantine culture: which is quite probable indeed, because of the close relationship between Venice and the Eastern Roman Empire. In recent times, the locals at the foot of Berici Hills have consolidated and perfected the techniques to make this "almost-risotto", peas based, that looks like a dense soup: a poor but tasty and satisfying dish, particularly suitable in autumn and winter.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 400 gr rice
• 500 gr sweet peas
• 100 gr chopped bacon
• 1 minced onion
• 50 gr butter
• 1 olive oil tablespoon
• 2 lt broth
• 100 gr Parmesan cheese
• knob of butter
• minced parsley
• salt to taste

Preparation:

Bron bacon and onion in butter and olive oil, add peas and water with a glass of broth and cook for about 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes are up, add the remaining broth and, when it starts boiling, put the rice in. Stir constantly using a wooden spoon, season with salt and once ready add some grated Parmesan, the knob of butter and parsley.

Serve while hot and buon appetito!