Risi e Bisi

A fun find at our local library was Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley, a children's book with some recipes in the back. My daughter wanted to try the Risi e Bisi recipe, since it fit in with our green pea challenge.

Reading for fun and food

Here's the ingredients:

• 2 cubes vegetable or chicken bouillon
• 4 cups water
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 cups fresh or frozen green peas
• 1/2 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Thanks to hard work in our backyard garden, we were able to use the freshest of all possible peas.

Harvesting pods

Harvesting peas

Here's the instructions:
Use a pot with a tight cover.

1. In a bowl, dissolve bouillon cubes in 2 cups of water, then add to the rest of the water. Set aside.
2. Over medium heat, cook garlic and onion in olive oil untion the onion is transparent. Don't let he garlic turn brown!
3. Turn off heat right away and pour in rice. Stir in the 4 cups of water and dissolved bouillon and cook on highest heat until micture boils. Lower heat and do not remove lid. Cook for 25 minutes.
4. If using frozen peas, soak them in warm water. When rice is cooked, add peas, stir Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle with nutmeg.

We altered the cooking instruction a bit for our Risi e Bisi. We only had 1/2 cup of peas from our garden, so we only used that much. We also substituted 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups of water for the bouillon and water in the recipe.

Stirring in peas and other stuff

The big test came at the end, when the cook tasted her creation for the first time. My daughter was a little reluctant. She overcame her fear of something new by realizing she likes all the ingredients.

Cooling before tasting

A happy customer