The pods are the secret: simmered for half an hour, they make a pale green broth that carries the flavor of the peas all the way through the rice. Vialone Nano cooked just 14 to 16 minutes in plenty of that broth keeps the dish loose enough for a spoon, somewhere between a risotto and a soup.
Make ahead The pod broth can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge; cook the rice only when you’re ready to eat.
Risi e Bisi
Prep 30 min · Cook 1 hr · Serves 4 · Difficulty Easy
Method
Shell the peas. Simmer the rinsed pods in 1.5 liters of lightly salted water for 30 minutes, then strain, pressing; you want about 1.2 liters of pale green broth, kept hot.
35 min
In a heavy pot, melt half the butter and cook the onion and pancetta gently until the onion is soft and the pancetta translucent, about 8 minutes.
8 min
Add the peas and half the parsley, turn them in the fat, and ladle in enough pod broth to cover. Simmer 5 minutes.
6 min
Add the rice and the rest of the hot broth. Cook at a gentle bubble, stirring now and then, until the rice is tender but composed, 14 to 16 minutes. It should stay distinctly brothy.
16 min
Off the heat, beat in the remaining butter and the Grana. Adjust salt and loosen with a last splash of broth: the wave, not the mound.
2 min
Rest one minute, scatter with the remaining parsley and a turn of pepper, and serve in shallow bowls with spoons.
Kitchen notes
The pod broth is the dish. Water or plain stock makes a pleasant rice with peas; only the pod broth makes risi e bisi taste green all the way down.
Mind the spoon test. Serve it loose enough that a spoon dropped flat sinks slowly. If a fork would do, you have made risotto by accident.
Frozen petit pois are a respectable winter understudy; skip the pod broth and use a light vegetable stock, and do not tell a Venetian in April.
Pancetta is a choice, not a rule. The recipe registered with Venice’s Chamber of Commerce in 2013 leaves pancetta out entirely, relying on butter and onion alone. Plenty of home cooks add it anyway for a savory edge; both are risi e bisi.
