The RISOTTO WITH SAVOY CABBAGE AND PANCETTA is a rustic first course from the peasant tradition, very flavorful and perfect as the main dish for a lunch in autumn or winter, when savoy cabbage is often the last vegetable available in the garden. It’s an easy dish to prepare, as you will see, but quite interesting to the palate and generally pleases all guests, even the more refined ones.
The goodness of this dish lies in the combination of savoy cabbage, crunchy and slightly sweet, with smoked pancetta, which gives an intense and savory taste. The risotto becomes perfectly balanced, preserving a richness of aromas and a very intense flavor. The preparation doesn’t require any complicated steps, but for a perfect result I recommend that, when the rice is almost cooked, you finish it with a good creaming (mantecatura) using cold butter and Parmesan to create that enveloping creaminess that makes the dish truly unforgettable.
SEE OTHER RECIPES WITH SAVOY CABBAGE:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 12.7 oz (about 1 3/4 cups) Carnaroli rice
- 14 oz (about 4 1/2 cups shredded) savoy cabbage
- 4.4 oz (about 1/4 lb) smoked pancetta, diced
- 4.25 cups (1 liter) vegetable broth
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 3 tbsp (about 40 g) butter (cold)
- 1/2 cup (about 50 g) grated Parmesan cheese
Tools
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Pot
- 1 Knife
Steps
The preparation of the RISOTTO WITH SAVOY CABBAGE AND PANCETTA is simple and within everyone’s reach.
First, trim the savoy cabbage, wash it under running water and make a triangular cut to remove the hard part of the core. Then stack the leaves, cut them into quarters and then into not-too-thin strips.
Meanwhile, remove the rind from the pancetta and cut it into cubes.
Fill a pot with 1 liter of water and dissolve a stock cube in it. Of course you can prepare a classic vegetable broth with celery, carrot and onion.
Place the pancetta in a hot skillet with a drizzle of oil and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, until the fat becomes translucent. Add the savoy cabbage, season with salt, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, adding half a glass of water if it starts to dry out too much.
When the cabbage has softened, add the rice, season it lightly with salt and toast it, stirring often. When the grains feel warm to the touch, deglaze with the wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
Then continue cooking by adding the hot broth a ladleful at a time, adding the next only when the previous ones have been absorbed by the rice.
When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, add the very cold or frozen butter, the Parmesan and a grating of pepper. Stir (mantecare) until creamy, cover with the lid and let rest for 5 minutes.
Plate the risotto with savoy cabbage and pancetta and enjoy it in all its creaminess and goodness.
