Cooking Rice with an Italian Accent! (15 page)

 

Riso del re Sole

(RICE OF THE SUN KING)

SERVES 4

They don't call it sunny Italy for nothing. The sun is king! Without it, nothing would grow. Life, as we know it, would not exist if the sun were extinguished. This is the culinary version of the famous hymn to the sun, “O Sole Mio.” Scientists tell us that millions of humans suffer depression as a result of deprivation of sunlight. This
riso
is a natural antidepressant with no unpleasant side effects. Feeling blue? Make and eat this sunny
riso.

3 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt

11 ounces long-grain rice

2 tablespoons butter

10 ounces frozen spinach, cooked according to package directions, squeezed dry, and chopped finely

4 tablespoons frozen peas, thawed, cooked for 5 minutes in boiling water and drained

20 ounces (1¼ pounds) sweet Italian sausage, skinned, crumbled, and browned well in:

1 tablespoon olive oil in large deep skillet

2 tablespoons light cream

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

Bring water to boil in a saucepan, stir in rice, and cook, covered, on gentle heat for twenty minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. Pour into a bowl. Cook spinach and peas according to directions in ingredient list. Cook sausage according to direction in ingredient list. Add butter to skillet in which you cooked sausage, stir, add spinach and peas, and cook for five more minutes. Add rice, cream, grated cheese, and ground black pepper. Mix well and transfer to serving bowl. Bring to table and eat while Pavarotti sings “O Sole Mio” on your stereo. This will chase your blues away. Guaranteed!

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CHIANTI CLASSICO, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO

 

Riso con Peperoni e Peperoncino

(RICE WITH SWEET AND HOT PEPPERS)

SERVES 4

This is an astounding rice dish combining the natural sweetness of bell peppers with the bite of hot peppers. I find it delightful and satisfying, but I only make it when the grocers' or supermarkets' vegetable bins are selling bell peppers in season. I simply refuse to buy produce out of season and pay outrageous prices. Besides, all vegetables are best when in season because they are at the peak of their flavor and texture.

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

20 ounces (1¼ pounds) altogether of green, red, and yellow bell peppers, pithed, seeded, and julienned

1 medium peeled onion, thinly sliced

6 tablespoons canned tomato sauce

1 large jalapeño pepper, chopped with seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

1 quart boiling hot chicken stock

12 ounces long-grain rice

2 hard-boiled eggs

In a large saucepan, sauté the bell peppers, onion, tomato sauce, and hot pepper in butter and olive oil on moderate heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for ½ hour. Set aside. Meanwhile bring broth to boil, add rice, and simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly until the rice absorbs the liquid completely. Add cooked rice to cooked pepper mixture. Mix well. Garnish with hard-boiled egg slices after filling serving bowl with rice and pepper sauce. Serve immediately.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

ROSSO DI SICILIA, SALICE SALENTINO

 

Riso dell' Alpino

(ALPINE RICE)

SERVES 4

The Italian Alps are studded with quaint villages where the food is hardy and phenomenal. The inhabitants need plenty of calories to sustain them in the cool mountain air while they engage in hard work. Just walking uphill is hard work for me when I visit their gorgeous towns. Charles Atlas (an Italian, by the way) I am not.

2 tablespoons butter

1½ ounces pancetta or bacon, minced

1 large peeled clove garlic, minced

½ large peeled white onion, diced

¼ teaspoon dried sage

1 rib celery, diced small

9 ounces sweet or hot Italian sausage, skinned and crumbled

1 shot glass cognac

1½ cups long-grain rice

1 quart boiling hot beef stock

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Melt one tablespoon of butter on moderate heat in a large saucepan. Add pancetta, garlic, onion, sage, and sausage. Sauté for ten minutes on low heat. Add cognac. Adjust heat to high and cook for three minutes. Add rice and stir for three minutes. Adjust heat to moderate. Add hot broth and stir constantly for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining tablespoon of butter and grated cheese. Stir briskly and serve immediately. You may keep grated Parmesan cheese on hand for those who want it.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

VALPOLICELLA, BARBERA D'ALBA

 

Riso con Salsa di Cipolle

(RICE WITH ONION SAUCE)

SERVES 4

Onions and garlic are in the same botanical family as lilies. I can get along without lilies until the day they lay me out, but I can hardly cook without onions and garlic. This is a delightful rice dish because the onions cook until they are deep brown and release their natural sweetness. And no one will approach you and say, “Phew—you were eating onions, I can smell you from a mile away!” Only eating raw onions may cause that kind of reaction. Eat and enjoy. Pop a Tic-Tac into your mouth if you're worried. (Tic-Tacs are made in Italy.)

2 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups long-grain rice

4 medium peeled onions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup dry white wine

1 level tablespoon all-purpose flour

¾ cup hot chicken stock

6 tablespoons light cream

Pinch of nutmeg

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Boil the rice uncovered in salted water for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the onions on gentle heat in 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Cook until very brown (caramelized). Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cook until completely evaporated. Sprinkle with flour, stir and cook five more minutes. Add chicken broth and stir to liquefy the sauce (three minutes). Simmer for fifteen minutes. Empty into food blender, add the cream and pinch of nutmeg. Blend for one minute. When the rice is cooked, drain in colander. Empty into a preheated serving bowl. Stir in the onion sauce, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the grated cheese. Stir well and bring to table.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

GATTINARA, BARBERA

 

Riso alla Salsa di Avocado

(RICE WITH AVOCADO SAUCE)

SERVES 4

I tasted this unusual
riso
in the singular and beautiful city of Perugia. Perugia is the capital of the region of Umbria, and it is built on the ruins of two other cities; the first, Etruscan, the second, Roman. A series of escalators bring you to the historic center and the Via Fanucci, a pedestrian mall leading to the cathedral. While I visited the cathedral, I was witness to an incident. An elderly priest stopped a woman wearing a modest short sleeve blouse. He said loudly, “What is this place? A zoo for naked beasts, or is it the house of God?” I felt sorry for the embarrassed woman and for the elderly priest. I prayed for them both.

4 quarts water with 1 teaspoon of salt

1½ cups long-grain rice

2 hard-boiled egg yolks, grated

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

2 large avocados, pitted, flesh scooped out with a spoon, and cut into small pieces

½ lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

½ cup whipped cream (no sugar)

Cook the rice in boiling water, uncovered, for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, beat together the butter and egg yolks. Add avocado and whip with a whisk. Add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and add basil. Whip vigorously to homogenize the mixture. Fold in the whipped cream. Fold into cooked, drained rice. This delicately flavored
riso
doesn't need any grated cheese.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

TOCAI FRIULANO, TREBBIANO, OR MALVASIA

 

Riso al Forno del Norcino

(NORCIA-STYLE BAKED RICE)

SERVES 4

Norcia is a small town located in the region of Umbria. Umbria is still a heavily forested area, and innumberable mushrooms grow from the decaying vegetation on its forests' floors. Many recipes, including this one, containing lovely mushrooms, are designated
alla Norcina
, or
del Norcino,
because Norcia grows some of the best wild mushrooms in Italy.

½ large peeled white onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons butter

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup warm water for ½ hour, drained and liquid carefully strained and reserved. Chop mushrooms.

6 ounces Italian sweet sausage, skinned and crumbled

½ package frozen peas, thawed

2 canned or frozen artichoke hearts, julienned

1 beef bouillon cube, crushed

4 cups water with 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry white wine

2 heaping tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, sauté onion in 2 tablespoons of butter for five minutes. Add mushrooms, sausage, peas, artichokes, bouillon, and strained mushroom liquid. Cook gently on low heat for ½ hour. Meantime, boil rice in four cups of water for five minutes. Drain quickly so rice will still be watery. Add wet rice to the saucepan. Add wine, 1 tablespoon of butter, and grated cheese. Mix well. Pour rice mixture into a baking dish (with cover) and bake covered for ten minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake until a light, golden crust begins to form, about ten more minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO, SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO

 

Riso San Remo

(SAN REMO RICE)

SERVES 4

San Remo is on the Italian Riviera in the region of Liguria. It is a pricey and trendy seaside resort where the beautiful people gather to see and be seen. They don't check your passport in this town, they check your bank accounts. I wandered away from the topless beach to the back streets where the natives live. I found a tiny trattoria (family-run restaurant) where the menu was memorized by the fourteen-year-old daughter of the owner. Alessandra suggested this dish. I was delighted with the food and even more delighted to pay seven dollars for a complete meal, including a liter of homemade wine. You don't have to go broke to eat gourmet food.

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1½ cups Arborio rice

¼ cup dry white wine

1 quart boiling hot chicken stock

Pinch of cinnamon

1 cup homemade cubes of stale Italian bread fried in olive oil (croutons)

½ pound fontina cheese, cubed

Preheat oven to 450°. In a large saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of melted butter and on moderate heat, cook rice for three minutes, stirring. Add wine and cook until it evaporates. Stir vigorously so the rice doesn't stick. Add hot broth, cup by cup, until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (about eighteen minutes). During the last two minutes of stirring constantly, add cinnamon. Pour into a baking dish that can be brought to the table, first a layer of rice sprinkled with half the croutons and half the cheese. Add another layer of rice and end with the remaining croutons and cheese. Drizzle with remaining melted butter. Place in oven for ten minutes. Remove and serve.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CINQUETERRE (WHITE), VERMENTINO DI SARDINIA

 

Sformato di Riso con le Uova

(RICE MOLD WITH EGGS)

SERVES 4

This dish makes such a spectacular presentation that you don't know whether to take its photograph or eat it. I was faced with this dilemma when Clelia La Bozzetta brought it to our dinner table. I solved the problem. I took its photo and dug into it without mercy. Boy, is this awesome!

2 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt

1 cup long-grain rice

1 large green bell pepper, pithed, seeded, and cut into strips

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

10 ounces tomato sauce, canned or fresh

4 fresh large eggs at room temperature

5 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring salted water to boil. Add rice, stir, and adjust heat to moderate. Cook rice uncovered for twenty minutes. Drain well. Pour into a well-greased ring mold. Sauté pepper strips in skillet in butter on moderate heat for eight minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato sauce and cook on low heat for ten minutes. Set aside but keep warm. In another skillet, fry the eggs sunny-side up, or as they say in Italian,
all' occhio di bue
(ox eyes), on high heat for four minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Unmold rice onto a platter (it's okay if it falls apart, just shape it into a ring). Arrange the cooked eggs around the outside crown of the rice and pour the tomato sauce and place the cooked pepper strips in the center of the ring of rice. What a beauty!