Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [120]
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
⅓ cup chopped onion
⅓ cup carrot diced very fine
⅓ cup celery diced very fine
Salt
2 cups Arborio or other imported Italian risotto rice
½ cup shelled fresh young peas OR thawed frozen peas
1 ripe, firm, fresh tomato, skinned raw with a peeler, seeded, and diced fine
⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
6 or more fresh basil leaves, washed and shredded by hand
1. Soak the zucchini in cold water, scrub them clean, and cut off both ends. Dice them very fine.
2. Bring the broth to a very slow, steady simmer on a burner near where you’ll be cooking the risotto.
3. Put 2 tablespoons of the butter, all the vegetable oil, and the chopped onion in a broad, sturdy pot, turn on the heat to medium high, and cook the onion until it becomes colored a fine golden brown.
4. Add the diced carrot and celery, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time to coat them well. Add the diced zucchini, one or two pinches of salt, and cook for 8 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
5. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove half the vegetables in the pot, and set aside. Turn on the heat to high. Add the rice, stirring quickly and thoroughly until the grains are coated well. If using fresh peas, add now.
6. Add ½ cup of simmering broth, and cook the rice following the directions in Steps 3 and 4 of the basic white risotto recipe.
7. When the rice has cooked for 20 to 25 minutes, add the cooked vegetables you had set aside earlier, the diced tomato, and the thawed frozen peas, if you are not using the fresh. Cook the rice until it is tender, but firm to the bite, with barely enough liquid remaining to make the consistency somewhat runny. Off heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, and all the grated Parmesan, and stir thoroughly until the cheese melts and clings to the rice. Taste and correct for salt. Mix in the shredded basil. Transfer to a platter and serve promptly.
Paniscia—Risotto with Vegetables and Red Wine
Paniscia is a merger of two lusty dishes: A risotto, cooked with red wine, and a generously endowed minestrone, the mighty vegetable soup from Novara.
In Novara, one of the ingredients of the dish is soft salami made from donkey meat, salam d’la duja. To replace, look for a high-quality, tender salami that is neither too spicy nor too garlicky. To hew as closely as possible to the original character of la paniscia, the wine should be a good Piedmontese red, a Spanna, a fine Barbera, a Dolcetto. Should you be unable to find them, look for a good Zinfandel, a Shiraz, or a Côte du Rhône.
For 6 servings
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped onion
¼ cup tender, mild salami chopped fine (see prefatory remarks above)
2 cups Arborio or other imported Italian risotto rice
2 cups dry red wine (see prefatory remarks above)
2½ cups Novara’s Bean and Vegetable Soup.
1 tablespoon butter
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Salt
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
1. Put all the vegetable oil, the chopped onion, and salami in a broad, sturdy pot, turn on the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion becomes colored a deep gold.
2. Add the rice, stirring quickly and thoroughly until the grains are coated well. Add ½ cup of wine, and cook the rice following the directions in Steps 3 and 4 of the basic white risotto recipe. Add more wine, a little at a time, when needed. When you have used up the wine, switch to warm water.
3. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add the bean and vegetable soup, mixing it in thoroughly. Continue cooking the rice with a half cupful of water at a time, stirring always. Cook the rice until it is tender, but firm to the bite, with barely enough liquid remaining to make the consistency somewhat runny. Off heat, add the tablespoon of butter and several liberal grindings of pepper, taste and correct for salt, stir well, and transfer to a serving platter. Allow to settle for a few minutes,