Minestra di Riso e Verza Lombarda

Ingredients

• For the soffritto
• 60 g lard, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 800 g savoy cabbage, outer leaves removed, coarsely shredded
• 1.2 litres light beef or vegetable broth, lightly flavoured; not strong stock
• 240 g Vialone Nano rice, Arborio is an acceptable substitute
• To finish
• 60 g Grana Padano, freshly grated
• 30 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

Method

1. 1
   Melt the lard in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat, so that its fat coats the base evenly and gives the soffritto a depth that butter or oil alone would not. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent but not coloured — the soffritto should be yielding and fragrant.
2. 2
   Add the coarsely shredded savoy cabbage to the pot and stir to coat it thoroughly in the soffritto, so every leaf picks up the rendered fat and begins to soften from the outside in rather than steaming in its own moisture. Cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring regularly, until the cabbage has collapsed entirely and any raw bitterness has cooked away — the leaves should be completely limp and yielding when pressed.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies: add only enough broth to barely cover the cabbage, so the rice must absorb rather than swim, giving the finished soup its characteristic dense, porridge-like body. Bring to a gentle simmer, then add the Vialone Nano rice — the cabbage must be fully tender before the rice enters the pot, because if it is not, the rice will be done long before the cabbage ever softens.
4. 4
   Cook at a steady, moderate simmer, adding small ladlefuls of broth only if the soup threatens to catch on the base, so the rice swells slowly against the cabbage rather than boiling loose in excess liquid. Continue for approximately 18–20 minutes from the moment the rice is added, until the rice has absorbed the broth almost entirely and is barely distinguishable from the surrounding cabbage — the consistency should be dense and porridge-like, not watery.
5. 5
   Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated Grana Padano and the cold butter in pieces — adding the butter off the heat keeps it from breaking into grease and instead lets it bind with the starch, drawing a light gloss across the surface. Stir until the butter has melted fully into the soup, taste for salt, and serve when the soup holds its shape briefly in the ladle before slowly spreading.