Cooking Rice with an Italian Accent! (14 page)

Grease bundt baking pan with remaining 1½ tablespoons of butter. Dust with breadcrumbs. Spoon in half the cooked rice. Scatter julienned prosciutto. Spoon in remaining rice. Press down with wet spoon. Bake for twenty minutes in 350° oven. Remove and let set for five minutes. Invert onto flat serving platter and serve immediately.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CHIANTI CLASSICO, BARBERA

 

Riso e Trippa

(RICE AND TRIPE)

SERVES 4

Tripe is the honeycombed white inside of the cattle's stomach. It is used extensively throughout Europe as an ingredient for soups and main courses. It is a taste I have not acquired, but I include this recipe for the many tripe lovers out there. Enjoy, but please don't ask me to dinner unless you're also making Risotto al Gorgonzola, my favorite.

1 onion, peeled

1 carrot, peeled

1 rib celery

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 fresh rosemary sprig

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound fresh tripe, washed very well in salted water, dried, and cut into small ribbon strips

2 quarts boiling hot beef stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup long-grain rice

¼ cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

Put onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and rosemary into bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse into a coarse mince. Cook the minced vegetables in olive oil in a 6-quart saucepan on gentle heat for five minutes. Add one quart of hot beef stock and tripe. Season with salt and pepper. Cook covered on moderate heat for 1½ hours, stirring often, adding more stock as necessary. Add rest of stock and rice. Cook, always stirring, for twenty minutes. Pour into serving bowl, sprinkle with grated cheese, and serve.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CHIANTI RISERVA, BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO

 

Riso del Lunedi

(MONDAY RICE)

SERVES 4

Why this rice dish is called “Monday Rice” I could never discover. It was served to me by my mamma's godchild, Marietta La Bozzetta, at her home in Reggio Calabria, Italy, on a Sunday afternoon after I had celebrated the noon Mass. I do know it is dramatic in presentation and almost sinfully delectable. I felt that I had to go to confession that evening to Monsignor Caruso at the Casa del Clero where I had my rooms. But after an examination of conscience, I knew that I hadn't committed any sin. This
riso
was simply a temptation to commit the sin of gluttony.

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large peeled clove garlic, minced

2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

14 ounces hot Italian sausage, skinned and crumbled

7 ounces very lean beef, julienned

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon dry rosemary; crushed

2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup hot water

4 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups long-grain rice

2 heaping tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, melt one tablespoon of butter in oil on gentle heat. Add garlic and scallions and sauté for five minutes. Add the meats seasoned with salt and pepper. Sauté for ten minutes. Add wine and bay leaf. Cook until wine evaporates. Add the tomato paste dissolved in hot water. Cover and simmer for thirty minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in rosemary. Meanwhile, bring water to boil. Add rice and cook uncovered at a boil for twenty minutes. Drain the rice and pour into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of grated cheese, and a pinch of nutmeg and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Grease a bundt baking pan with the last 2 tablespoons of butter. Place ¾ of the cooked rice in bottom of baking pan. Press down the rice and make a large dent in the center. Fill the center with the meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Cover with remaining rice. Press down. Place bundt baking pan in preheated 400° oven for ten minutes. Remove. Let rest five minutes. Unmold by turning upside down on serving platter and bring to table. One taste and you'll want Monday Rice on any day.
Magnifico!
(Magnificent!)

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CHIANTI CLASSICO, VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO

 

Riso con Salsa allo Zafferano

(RICE WITH SAFFRON SAUCE)

SERVES 4

Saffron is probably the world's most expensive spice, at two thousand dollars a pound. It is the stigma of a crocus flower that must be removed by hand. It is also probably the most exquisite spice in the world. I use Badia saffron at $2.49 a package. That contains 0.4 gram. This minuscule amount is enough to beautifully color and flavor most dishes. There are imitations available, but please use genuine saffron. It is worth it.

4 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt

11 ounces Arborio rice

¼ cup dry white wine

2 scallions, finely chopped

3 white peppercorns

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons minced carrot, onion, celery

1 slice prosciutto or boiled ham

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 small packages Badia saffron (0.4 gram each) dissolved in 1 cup hot beef stock

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil. Add rice and cook on moderate heat for twenty minutes. Drain in colander and reserve. For wine sauce:

In a small saucepan, place wine, scallions, and peppercorns on low heat, reduce until half the wine is evaporated. Press contents through food mill or place in a blender and pulse until smooth. Reserve.

In a large saucepan, sauté 4 tablespoons of minced vegetables and ham in butter on gentle heat for five minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir until flour has turned light brown in color. Add saffron dissolved in hot stock. Cook on low heat for fifteen minutes. Pour cooked rice into a bowl with wine and saffron sauces. Mix and sprinkle with grated cheese. Turn upside down on serving platter and bring to table. Whew! Complicated isn't it? But it's well worth the effort. I enjoyed this dish at an outdoor restaurant in Milan.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

BARBARESCO, BARBERA

 

Riso del Barcaiolo

(BOATMAN'S RICE)

SERVES 4

Boatmen eat fish, don't they? Obviously, this dish was named in recognition of that fact. The fish is canned tuna, so we don't have to venture onto a boat to net our catch. I'm glad about that, because I'm prone to motion sickness on small boats. So, whoever invented this recipe did people like me a big favor. Besides that, this
riso
dish is very palatable (that means yummy).

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium peeled onion, small diced

1 beef bouillon cube, crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup hot water

1 6-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil, drained and flaked

½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

4 cups water with ½ teaspoon salt

2 cups long-grain rice

In skillet sauté onion in butter and oil on gentle heat ten minutes. Sprinkle crushed bouillon over it and season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cook until it evaporates. Add hot water 2 teaspoons at a time if onions get too dry. Cook five more minutes. Add tuna, parsley, basil, and remaining hot water. Stir and set aside. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to boil. Add rice and stir. Adjust heat to low and simmer for twenty minutes, covered. Pour rice into serving bowl, dress with onion-tuna sauce, mixing well. Bring to table. Do not serve cheese with any kind of fish.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

CHARDONNAY, ARNEIS

 

Riso con Uova e Cavolfiore

(RICE WITH EGGS AND CAULIFLOWER)

SERVES 4

Cauliflower belongs to the cruciferous family of vegetables, along with broccoli. The crucifers are recommended by the medical community as a natural preventative for stomach and intestinal cancers. Cauliflower by itself is a rather bland vegetable but combined with other ingredients, it has the wonderful ability to absorb their flavors. This rice recipe transforms cauliflower into a tantalizing vegetable. Nothing drab or bland about it.

1 medium cauliflower

4 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt

1 medium peeled onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons butter

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

11 ounces long-grain rice

2 ounces grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese

Bring salted water to boil. Cut off outer leaves and core of cauliflower and place in boiling water. Cover and cook for ten minutes. Drain in colander, reserve water, allow to cool, and break into flowerettes. Set aside. In large skillet, sauté onion in butter for five minutes. Add cauliflower, mix well and remove from heat. In a large saucepan, bring reserved water to boil and add rice, stir, and cook on moderate heat for twenty minutes. Drain in colander. Pour into serving bowl and add cooked cauliflower. Beat eggs with milk and seasoning. Pour into rice. Stir in parsley. Sprinkle with grated cheese, stir and bring to table.

RECOMMENDED WINES:

TOCAI FRIULANO, SOAVE

 

Riso Gratinato con Funghi e Fegatini

(CRUSTY BAKED RICE WITH MUSHROOMS AND CHICKEN LIVERS)

SERVES 4

This is such a pretty and tantalizing dish. The first time I tasted it was at the home of Franco La Bozzetta, Marietta's oldest son, who lives on the outskirts of Catania, Sicily. I'm not partial to chicken livers, but this preparation was so outstanding, I actually relished them.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon pancetta or bacon, minced

1 peeled medium onion, minced

1 large peeled clove garlic, minced

½ peeled carrot, minced

1 rib celery, minced

4 fresh sage leaves, minced or ¼ teaspoon dried

7 ounces cleaned chicken livers, minced

10 ounces ordinary mushrooms, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cognac

1 tablespoon tomato paste dissolved in ½ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons light cream

4 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups long-grain rice

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese

Plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large saucepan, heat oil on moderate heat. Sauté onion and garlic five minutes. Add carrot, celery, and sage. Sauté eight minutes. Add chicken livers. Sauté five minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add cognac and cook on high heat until it evaporates (about three minutes). Add tomato paste dissolved in wine. Lower heat and cook uncovered for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, bring water to boil. Stir in rice and one tablespoon of butter. Boil uncovered for fifteen minutes. Drain and pour into bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and grated cheese. Mix well. Grease an angel food cake pan with 1 tablespoon of butter. Dust with bread crumbs. Press cooked rice into the pan with a wet spoon. Dust top of rice with 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs and dot with last tablespoon of butter. Bake in preheated 400° oven for twenty minutes. Remove and let cool for ten minutes. Unmold on serving platter. Fill center with chicken liver-mushroom sauce. Bring to table.
Elegante!
(Elegant!)

RECOMMENDED WINES:

BARBERA D'ALBA, NERO D'AVOLA