Vercelli, Piedmont
The signature risotto of Vercelli — the heart of Italian rice country — made with Vialone Nano or Arborio rice grown in the Vercellese paddies, Saluggia beans (a local borlotti variety), Barbera wine, and cubed salame della duja (salame preserved in lard, with a distinctive soft, spreadable texture). Panissa is the opposite of the Milanese saffron risotto: rustic, earthy, bean-and-pork-driven, stained red-brown by the Barbera. It is considered the older, more honest rice tradition of the Po plain.
Earth-toned, bean-rich risotto stained red by Barbera and punctuated by cubes of soft, lard-preserved salame — the honest, unselfconscious rice cooking of the Po plain
{"Saluggia beans cooked the day before in water with sage and rosemary; reserve cooking liquid for the risotto","Soffritto: lard (not olive oil or butter), diced onion, salame della duja cubed — render and caramelise","Toast the dry rice in the salame fat 2 minutes before adding wine","Barbera added first (half glass), absorbed fully before adding stock","Beans added in the final 5 minutes — they must retain shape, not dissolve"}
{"The Saluggia bean cooking liquid replaces some stock — it adds starch and body to the risotto","All'onda finish: the risotto should wave (ondeggiare) when the pan is shaken — looser than most risottos","Barbera d'Asti is preferred to Barolo for this dish — the higher acidity lifts rather than overpowers"}
{"Using olive oil instead of lard — the fat base is fundamental to the flavour","Normal salame instead of salame della duja — the soft, lard-preserved salame has unique meltability","Adding beans too early — they disintegrate and the texture becomes porridge-like"}
La Cucina Vercellese — Claudio Pedrini