Cooking Rice with an Italian Accent! by Giuseppe Orsini

minutes. Put the mixture into your largest skillet and set aside. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil. Stir in rice and cook uncovered on a boil for eighteen minutes. Drain well in colander. Pour into the skillet into which you placed the peas and prosciutto mixture. On high heat, fry the dressed rice, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, for five minutes. Add remaining tablespoon butter and the cream. Stir and remove from heat. Empty into a deep serving bowl, sprinkle grated cheese, and bring to table. Sorry, no fortune cookie with this fried rice!
    RECOMMENDED WINES:
    BARBERA–BONARDI BLEND, NEBBIOLO
    Â 
    Riso all’ Emmental
    (SWISS CHEESE RICE)
    SERVES 4
    This sumptuously rich dish takes about twenty-five minutes to make and is a hearty main course that should be followed by a simple green salad. The nutty flavor of genuine Swiss cheese blends beautifully with the rice. The recipe comes from Lugano, the Italian-speaking town situated in the Ticino Canton of Switzerland.
    2 cups rice (any long-grain rice will do)
    4 cups water with 1 teaspoon of salt
    5 slices Swiss cheese (Emmentaler), diced
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
    Â½ cup dry white wine
    Pinch of salt
    2 medium eggs, beaten
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Bring water to boil in a large saucepan. Throw in rice, stir, lower heat to simmer, and cook covered for twenty minutes. In another saucepan place diced cheese, butter, parsley, white wine, and a pinch of salt. Cook on low heat stirring continuously until cheese is melted. Add beaten eggs and continue to cook, stirring, for eight minutes. Add the cheese mixture to the rice. Mix well and turn into a warmed bowl. Bring to table.
    RECOMMENDED WINES:
    MÜLLER THÜRGAU, MERLOT
    Â 
    Riso Pasticciato al Forno
    (BAKED RICE PIE)
    SERVES 4
    The only thing that this tasty dish has in common with what we know as pie is that it’s also baked in an oven. No, it is not a dessert. It is a satisfying main course that will have them smacking their lips.
    2 cups Arborio or any long-grain rice
    2 quarts water with 1 teaspoon of salt
    4 tablespoons butter
    4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
    2 tablespoons grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese
    3½ ounces shelled peas, frozen or fresh
    Â½ beef bouillon cube, crushed
    5 ounces smoked bacon, coarsely chopped
    2 medium eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
    1 tablespoon butter to grease baking dish
    Preheat oven to 350°. Boil the rice in the salted water uncovered for fifteen minutes. Drain in colander, pour rice into a bowl, and dress with two tablespoons butter and the cheeses. Mix well. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in small skillet on low heat. Add peas. Dust with a crushed bouillon cube. Cover and cook on lowest heat for fifteen minutes. In another nonstick skillet, sauté bacon on lowest heat just until fat is transparent. Remove bacon and set aside. Now add the beaten eggs to the seasoned, cooked rice. Grease a baking dish with one tablespoon butter. Cover the bottom with a layer of rice, lay on some bacon and another 3 tablespoons of buttered peas, then another layer of rice. Make layers in the same manner until all is used, but end with a layer of rice. Place in preheated 350° oven and bake for fifteen minutes. Bring the dish directly from the oven to the table. (Be careful; put something under the dish or you’ll burn the table.)
    RECOMMENDED WINES:
    VALPOLICELLA, BARBERA D’ASTI
    Â 
    Riso alla Moda del Pioniere
    (PIONEER-STYLE RICE)
    SERVES 4
    Where and how this dish got named, I couldn’t find out. The only thing I could figure is that anyone who can invent a recipe could be considered a pioneer. Even though I couldn’t discover how it was named, it’s a very tasty dish.
    1½ cups Arborio rice
    2 quarts water with 1 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoons butter
    2 fresh sage leaves (may be omitted) or use ¼ cup flat leaf parsley on stem
    3½ ounces boiled ham, julienned
    2 egg yolks
    2 tablespoons grated Parmesan