Giulina’s Risi e Bisi

Name: Giulina’s Risi e Bisi
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 kg Peas in the pods; 1 Onion; 6 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil; 4 tbsp Parsley; 320 g Risotto rice; 40 g Unsalted butter; 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano; Salt

Giulina’s name was a misspelling of Giulia by the registrar in charge of recording births in Venice. She has kept the erroneous ’n’ for the fun of it. Before she retired she had a career catering for the primary school children of Venice; apparently her pasta and beans was a favourite. But she is also famous for her risi e bisi, or rice and peas, a dish which is typical of the Veneto region. She lives in Murano, an island just a short ferry ride from Venice. It is a small, crocheted vegetative blanket of market gardening, laden with produce and struggling to stay afloat in the lagoon. It’s where Giulina sources her organic peas; she thinks organically grown ones are essential because you want to make a stock from the pods. This makes it a seasonal treat! We spent a jolly afternoon with Giulina and her friends who dropped by, discovering Venetian women are welcoming, earthy, love a good laugh and the chance to celebrate. So we all had a glass of wine and within minutes, it was a risi e bisi impromptu party!

Cook

1h 5m

Giulina’s Risi e Bisi

Giulina’s name was a misspelling of Giulia by the registrar in charge of recording births in Venice. She has kept the erroneous ’n’ for the fun of it. Before she retired she had a career catering for the primary school children of Venice; apparently her pasta and beans was a favourite. But she is also famous for her risi e bisi, or rice and peas, a dish which is typical of the Veneto region. She lives in Murano, an island just a short ferry ride from Venice. It is a small, crocheted vegetative blanket of market gardening, laden with produce and struggling to stay afloat in the lagoon. It’s where Giulina sources her organic peas; she thinks organically grown ones are essential because you want to make a stock from the pods. This makes it a seasonal treat! We spent a jolly afternoon with Giulina and her friends who dropped by, discovering Venetian women are welcoming, earthy, love a good laugh and the chance to celebrate. So we all had a glass of wine and within minutes, it was a risi e bisi impromptu party!

Cook

1h 5m

Ingredients

Method

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Step 1

Shell the peas, and place the pods in a saucepan with plenty of water. Cover, and simmer gently for around an hour until they’re very soft. Or use a pressure cooker to speed up the process.