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Risotto alla pilota
Rice with sausage
Risotto alla pilota: Mantua's steamed Vialone Nano rice with crumbled pork sausage
Despite the name, this is not really a risotto. In the rice fields around Mantua and Ostiglia, the piloti were the workers who husked the rice, and their lunch was rice steamed in a covered pot until each grain stayed separate, then topped with pork salamella (fresh sausage) fried with butter and a little Grana. It is still served in Mantuan trattorie in autumn after the harvest, and at village festivals. The rice is never stirred. Chef's tip: pour the rice into the boiling water in a cone so the tip just pokes out, then cover and leave it alone; that's how the grains steam evenly and stay firm.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 ½ oz Vialone Nano rice
- 10 ½ oz fresh pork sausage (salamella)skins removed, crumbled
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 2 ⅛ oz Grana Padanograted
- ½ tsp black pepper
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 2 ½ cups water and 1 tsp salt to the boil in a deep pan with a lid. Pour in 12 ½ oz Vialone Nano rice in a stream so it forms a small cone and just pokes out of the water at the top.
2 minStep 2: Boil for 10 minutes without stirring, tapping the side of the pan now and then. Turn off the heat, wrap the lid in a tea towel, cover and leave for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender and the water absorbed. Common mistake: stirring; it turns the rice sticky.
25 minStep 3: Meanwhile melt 1 ⅜ oz butter in a frying pan and fry 10 ½ oz fresh pork sausage (salamella) for 8–10 minutes, breaking it up, until browned, cooked through with no pink and 160°F.
10 minStep 4: Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the sausage and its butter and 2 ⅛ oz Grana Padano, season with ½ tsp black pepper and serve.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does risotto alla pilota take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of vialone nano rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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