A dish that has its origins in northern Italy, initially in Veneto and then extended to Lombardy and Piedmont, risotto is a first course over which the Italian flag undoubtedly flies. Even though it is a rather recent dish in the history of cuisine.
Although rice was already cultivated in Mesopotamia and was used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, it was not until the beginning of the 900th century as a basic ingredient in food because the humble rice used until then as an accompaniment to meat and fish and vegetables acquired a protagonist dimension on the Italian table cooked as risotto.
To be honest. There had been precedents for ennobling it in the kitchen like rice fried with butter and soaked in broth. which is mentioned in 1779, in the cookbook Il Cuoco Maceratese by Antonio Nebbia, or a rice with fat, beef marrow, saffron and nutmeg which we find in the Nuovo cuoco milanese economia by Giovanni Felice Luraschi published in 1853.
But to trace the first real codified recipe for a risotto we will have to wait for the publication in 1891 of 'The science in cooking and the art of eating well', considered one of the most important books on Italian cuisine, translated into many languages and also recognized for its literary value monumental work by Pellegrino Artusi, writer, gastronome and literary critic who provided the first organic cataloging of the Italian gastronomic tradition.
Even if Artusi includes risotto among the 'dry and lean soups', speaking of the various types of risotto he dedicates space to the Milanese one in two versions: the first without wine, the second with white wine and marrow.
Today Italy is considered the leading European producer of rice, with a production of almost 1.300 tonnes on 220.000 hectares, and a turnover of more than one billion euros coming from the activity of 4,100 agricultural companies that employ around 10.000 workers.
We are the leading producers and also the leading exporters since only 35 percent is consumed in Italy while the other 65 percent goes abroad. In short, our rice is liked not only by Italians, who each eat 6 kilos of it a year, but also abroad. But if we move from the comforting production data to those regarding quality, the situation appears less rosy. For years the Italian rice market has been under attack by oriental rices, especially those from Cambodia, the Republic of Myanmar, and Vietnam, which are much cheaper both in terms of production costs and organizational costs in many East Asian countries.
The alarm launched by Coldiretti in recent days denounces that imports of rice from Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh have increased dramatically and these are countries in which the use of chemical products which have been banned for decades in Italy and in Europe such as glyphosate, tebucanazole, piperonyl butoxide and malathion. So when purchasing rice it is best to pay close attention to the labels to discover its origins.
But it must also be said at the same time that even rice grown in Italy is not free from contamination problems. The enemy is called arsenic and perhaps not everyone knows that arsenic is present, albeit in non-lethal quantities, in almost all Italian rice. Arsenic, in fact, is a chemical element present in air, water and earth, we find it in fields as well as in drinking water. The fact is that rice plants live in water and absorb a lot of it.
How to do without it? It is impossible to give up risottos, supplì, sartou, arancini, baskets, cakes that gratify us every day. But we can and must remain vigilant.
However, you can go on one rice with your eyes closed, it is "Risoinfiore", the true flagship of Made in Italy, grown in an area in the Vercelli area where arsenic levels are almost irrelevant, the only rice on the world market with registered trademark with zero residue. And zero residue means that it is free from any trace of plant protection products, which is certified by the multi-residue analyzes that are carried out on the lot and which can be consulted on the company website.
A challenging project, which required years of study and considerable investments. “It took eight years, declares Paola Fiore, owner of the company today, but with great pride and satisfaction, we can say that we have produced a rice at the moment, Unique, Good and Genuine, a rice that is rice, totally natural, which it has no equal in the world." We start from cultivation with the preparation of the fields for sowing in strict compliance with the principles of sustainable agriculture aimed at reducing the risks of nutrient leaching, ensuring adequate plant cover and promoting biological diversity and the supply of organic substance in the soils , which involves winter green manure (barley) to organically fertilize the soil. The cleaning of the fields with mechanical treatment does not exceed 12/15 cm of soil cultivation, in this way the soil is not affected except for the part that the rice root actually requires. We then proceed with sowing, the variety chosen to produce zero residue rice is Gloria. Excellent for risottos, with the peculiarity of being resistant to diseases, therefore avoid treatments with fungicides, which would inevitably leave residues on the product.
And Gloria rice is the absolute protagonist of a refined gourmet dish, the Risotto with prawns, bergamot, piquillo pepper, broccoli, signed by chef Salvo Cravero, professor of haute cuisine at the Gambero Rosso courses, recommended by the Michelin Guide "because it offers refined cuisine which reinterprets the Piedmontese tradition and ranges between the cuisines of other regions, land and sea". His cuisine is the result, in fact, of a culinary philosophy typical of the area which draws on the aromas and flavors of the past in simple dishes prepared with the ingredients supplied by the local shops and enriched by the great creativity of the chef who always adheres to the philosophy of genius loci.
“To be innovative – Cravero states with conviction – we often have to go back to the origins, to when we cooked not to amaze customers, but to satisfy them, to a simple cuisine based on the quality of local products. A cuisine that "begins in the land: in the rice fields of Novara, in the farms where the local cured meats are born, in the dairies where every morning at dawn the freshly milked milk arrives which will become Gorgonzola, Toma or other excellences".
The recipe for risotto with prawns, bergamot, piquillo pepper and broccoli with the healthy Risoinfiore with great properties
Ingredients:
Cleaned prawns are cut in half lengthwise
Fresh untreated bergamot a zeste
For the broth
prawn heads
Water
For the pepper sauce
Roasted piquillo peppers 100 grams
cooking water
Salt to taste
xantara to taste
For the broccoli sauce
Leaf broccoli 500 grams
Water for cooking
Salt to taste
Xanthan to taste
For the risotto
Gloria variety rice 160 grams
prawn broth
Salt to taste
Normandy salted butter 40 gr
24 month parmesan 35 grams
umeboshi acidulate
Cooking rice
Dry toast the rice in an already hot saucepan just long enough for it to "harden". Wet the rice with the hot broth, obtained from the mixture of cold water and prawn head powder. Add a little salt and cook until cooked (al dente). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and parmesan. Add the umeboschi acidulate and continue to whisk. Add the raw prawns and cook slightly. Let it rest for a couple of minutes with a damp cloth. Season with salt and serve on a hot flat plate. Finish with the sauces (broccoli and peppers) and the fresh raw Bergamot zest
