This rice and beans is classic country food from Novara, in Northern Piemonte, and though it does to somewhat resemble the panissa made in nearby Vercelli, it contains many more vegetables.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound (350 g, or about 1 1/2 cups) Carnaroli or other short grained rice, e.g. Baldo or Vialone Nano
- 5 ounces (120 g) salame d'la Duja (see note), peeled and crumbled
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- A cup of wine, ideally Nebbiolo
- 1/2 pound (200 g) freshly shelled cranberry beans (if dried, use 1/4 pound and soak them overnight)
- 1/4 pound (100 g) pig skin, flamed and scraped to remove bristles
- An onion
- 2 ounces (50 g) cured lard, ground (use fatty pancetta if need be)
- 6 ounces (150 g) Savoy cabbage
- 3 leeks, trimmed of the roots, washed, and sliced
- A half a rib of celery
- A carrot, peeled and finely sliced
- 5 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, drained and chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Blanch the pig skin and slice it into thin strips.
Put the beans in a pot with ample cold water to cover. Add the sliced pig skin and heat. While the pot is heating slice the cabbage, celery, carrot, and leeks. When the pot begins to boil add the vegetables, check seasoning, cover, and simmer over a gentle flame for at least two hours, checking the pot every now and again and giving it a stir.
When the time is close to being up, chop the lard and the onion. Sauté them in the butter in a large, ideally terracotta pot, and when the onion is golden add the salami and the rice. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, and then add the wine. Continue cooking until it has evaporated. Add the vegetables and beans using a strainer, and then some of the cooking liquid; continue to cook, stirring and adding liquid as the rice absorbs it for about 20 minutes. When it is done it should be thick and creamy. Serve it with freshly ground pepper for those who want it, and a hearty red wine, either a Barbera, or a Nebbiolo-based wine from the Alto Piemonte, for example Gattinara, Boca, Ghemme, or Lessona.
Yield: 6 servings Panissa Vercellese, Rice & Beans Vercelli Style
Note:
Salame d'la Duja is a small potted pork salami (i.e. packed in fat). Use Italian firm mild (ideally raw, salt cured) salami. If possible, use a couple of small whole salami about 4 inches long and 1in diameter (10 by 2 cm), and if not use a piece.
Put the beans in a pot with ample cold water to cover. Add the sliced pig skin and heat. While the pot is heating slice the cabbage, celery, carrot, and leeks. When the pot begins to boil add the vegetables, check seasoning, cover, and simmer over a gentle flame for at least two hours, checking the pot every now and again and giving it a stir.
When the time is close to being up, chop the lard and the onion. Sauté them in the butter in a large, ideally terracotta pot, and when the onion is golden add the salami and the rice. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, and then add the wine. Continue cooking until it has evaporated. Add the vegetables and beans using a strainer, and then some of the cooking liquid; continue to cook, stirring and adding liquid as the rice absorbs it for about 20 minutes. When it is done it should be thick and creamy. Serve it with freshly ground pepper for those who want it, and a hearty red wine, either a Barbera, or a Nebbiolo-based wine from the Alto Piemonte, for example Gattinara, Boca, Ghemme, or Lessona.
Yield: 6 servings Panissa Vercellese, Rice & Beans Vercelli Style
Note:
Salame d'la Duja is a small potted pork salami (i.e. packed in fat). Use Italian firm mild (ideally raw, salt cured) salami. If possible, use a couple of small whole salami about 4 inches long and 1in diameter (10 by 2 cm), and if not use a piece.
