Venice — risi e bisi is documented from the 15th century in Venetian records as the Doge's Day feast preparation. The Burano island peas were historically considered the finest in the Veneto. The preparation is now made throughout the Veneto and beyond, but the April 25 date and the spring pea specificity remain essential to its meaning.
Risi e bisi is the most celebrated Venetian preparation — not quite a risotto, not quite a soup, but occupying the middle ground between the two: a soupy, loose rice-and-pea preparation made with the very first spring peas from the Burano island fields (historically) or the Veneto mainland, where the small, sweet, very fresh peas are essential. The preparation was traditionally made to celebrate St Mark's Day (April 25, the Feast of the Patron of Venice), when the Doge received the first spring peas from the Burano farmers. The pea pods are used to make the broth; the peas go into the rice; the pancetta and parsley are the flavouring.
Risi e bisi in a wide bowl is pale green and fragrant — the pea broth gives the liquid a sweetness and fresh-garden scent that is impossible to replicate with any other medium. The peas retain their slight crunch; the rice is barely al dente; the pancetta adds a mild savoury note; the butter and Parmigiano give richness without weight. It is the taste of Venetian spring — delicate, transient, irreplaceable.
Shell fresh peas; retain pods. Make pea pod broth: simmer the pods in lightly salted water 20-30 minutes; strain — this broth is the cooking liquid for the risi e bisi. Make soffritto of pancetta and shallot in butter and olive oil; add peas (fresh only — frozen peas approximate but do not capture the character of very fresh spring peas). Add risotto rice (Vialone Nano is the Venetian choice); toast 2 minutes. Begin adding hot pea broth, ladle by ladle, stirring continuously. After 15-16 minutes, the rice should be barely al dente and the mixture much more liquid than risotto — almost soupy. Off heat, stir in cold butter and Parmigiano. Serve in flat soup bowls. The wave of a loose risotto is all'onda; risi e bisi should be looser still.
Vialone Nano is the traditional Venetian rice variety — smaller, more starchy, and absorbs liquid differently from Carnaroli or Arborio; it produces the slightly different texture characteristic of Venetian risotto. Fresh peas have a very short window — May through early June in most of Europe. The preparation should be made only when genuinely fresh peas are available. The mantecatura (butter and Parmigiano added off heat) should be generous.
Using frozen peas — the preparation is only made in spring with genuinely fresh peas; at any other time, make something else. Skipping the pod broth — the pea pod broth is the preparation's defining liquid; chicken broth can be substituted but the flavour profile changes entirely. Making it too thick — risi e bisi should be soupy, not stiff; if it holds its shape on the plate, it is overcooked.
Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking; Slow Food Editore, Veneto in Cucina