Francesca's Risi E Bici

Submitted by Baby Kato

"I got this delicious recipe from a sweet elderly italian lady. It's so simple to make and tastes great. Francesca always told me to use good quality cheese and wine, because you can taste the difference."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1⁄2 teaspoon saffron thread
• 4 cups chicken stock, very hot
• 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
• 1⁄4 cup fresh fennel, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup onion, sweet, chopped
• 1⁄8 cup cremini mushroom, finely sliced
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1⁄2 cup white wine, dry
• 2 cups peas, petite, fresh (frozen & thawed)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated, good quality
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, sea, fine
• 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper, black, fresh ground

directions

1. Put the saffron threads into the hot chicken stock to steep(keep warm).
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, stir in fennel, onion and mushrooms and saute 4 minutes.
3. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, stir frequently until rice is shiny and has begun to absorb the butter.
4. Lower the heat and add the wine, stirring constantly until the wine is absorbed.
5. Next pour in 1/4 cup of the hot stock, stir constantly until the stock is absorbed, do this 1/4 cup at at time until all the stock has been absorbed by the rice.
6. Stir in the peas and olive oil cook an additional 3 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
8. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
9. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top of the rice just before serving.

Reviews

[Peter J]

Beautiful! The flavours layered together wonderfully and the cooking method was perfect. The only thing I'd change next time and it's a very small thing is to use double the amount of mushrooms, they melded together so well with everything else I wouldn't have minded a few more.

 

[Artandkitchen]

Yummi risotto! The quantities were perfect, I did not have to add any drops of liquid, the rice was perfect.<br/>I loved very much the new addition (for me) of fennel. Thanks.<br/>Done for ZWT7.

 

[Kim127]

While I enjoyed the flavor of this recipe, I had a problem with the rice part. Mine was pretty pasty and still a bit crunchy. Not sure what I did wrong. Obviously it works as there are 2 5-start ratings already. I followed the directions as written and since the rice was still hard, I added another 1/2 cup of broth. Please give this recipe a try as I am sure it was purely operator error in this case..

 

[ElaineAnn]

I LOVE risotto and this one is delicious! I did leave out the mushrooms but did not change anything else. This dish deserves the extra time and effort required while cooking it. The petite peas are the finishing touch for me. This is a keeper. Thank you for choosing me in the Help a Camera-less Chef Game #5.

 

[French Tart]

BK - your recipes have NEVER let me down yet! And this was another wonderful meal from BK's cookbook! PLEASE thank your Italian friend for such a stunning and simple Risi e Bici recipe - just awsome! I had to make a couple of VERY small changes; I had fresh mange tout (Sugarsnap peas) and used those instead of frozen peas - and I used dried French cepes instead of cremini mushrooms. Other than that - I followed the directions to the letter. I use saffron A LOT in my cooking, and IMHO this was the secret and sophisticated flavour enhancer in this dish. I had to cut this recipe down by half and it was easy to calculate. It was creamy and dreamy - a VERY elegant - a classic Italian dish, THANKS so much for posting this recipe, I am saving this for other meals, or even a starter for a dinner party. Great recipe - made for Photo Tag. FT:-)