Neapolitan Cabbage and Rice (virz’ e ris in Neapolitan dialect) is a typical autumn soup just like Neapolitan pasta and cauliflower and Neapolitan pasta and pumpkin, of which every family has its own recipe.
Indeed, some cook the soup in beef or pork broth while others prefer to sauté the cabbage first and then add water or broth in which the rice will also be cooked.
In short, you will find many cabbage and rice recipes, and today I want to share my version, which I make when I don’t have meat cuts available to make broth, but simply a piece of pancetta which I prefer not to fry.
In fact, I use diced pancetta along with garlic, chili pepper, and parmesan rind to flavor the water in which I will cook the cabbage and then the rice, for a somewhat lighter version.
I don’t know if this procedure is technically correct, but my cabbage and rice soup is indeed delicious, especially if you complete the dish with plenty of grated cheese and a drizzle of raw oil.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
See also
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 Savoy cabbage
- 1 clove garlic
- 3.5 oz pancetta (flat)
- 1 fresh chili pepper
- to taste grated parmesan (also the rind)
- to taste water
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 11.3 oz Carnaroli rice
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Grater
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wooden spoon
Steps
To prepare cabbage and rice, fill a high-edged pot three-quarters full with cold water, place it on the stove (or induction), and add a drizzle of extra virgin oil, a clove of garlic, a chopped fresh chili pepper, diced pancetta, and parmesan rind, previously cleaned and cut into pieces.
Let the water come to a boil and focus on cleaning the cabbage.
Cut the cabbage in half and remove the harder white part from each half, then thinly slice the cabbage to obtain strips.
Wash the cabbage under running water and place it in a colander to drain excess water.
When the water starts boiling, remove the garlic clove and stew the cabbage. Lightly salt it, cover with a lid leaving a small vent, and let it cook for 20 minutes.
When the cabbage is completely wilted, add the rice to the pot and cook it, adding hot water (a little at a time) as needed. Conversely, if there’s still a lot of broth in the pot when it’s time to add the rice, use a ladle to remove some and set it aside, adding it as needed.
The final result should be a dish that is neither too brothy nor too dry, but creamy just like a risotto.
At the end of cooking, adjust the salt and serve your cabbage and rice soup piping hot, adding plenty of grated cheese and a drizzle of raw oil to each diner’s plate 😉.
