-Cipriani’s Spring Risotto-
With many of you starting to send out posts about the first signs of spring, which I sadly cannot do since I live in a tropical climate, I like to take you with me instead on a short journey ‘down memory lane’ to the beautiful city of Venice.
One of the domes of the Basilica di San Marco, Venice
Many many years ago a number of our international friends and I had a very noisy, and I confess, slightly boozy, but, oh so enjoyable Lunch at the world famous Harry’s Bar in Venice.
…..preparing our Bellinis
In fact it was one of those wonderful impromptu get-togethers one really cannot organise – they just happen!! And certainly nobody wants them to end quickly.
(Andrea outside Harry’s Bar)
The original plan that day was for all of us to meet at “Harry’s”, have refreshments and take Cipriani’s own boat out to the Island of Torcello to their beautiful and romantic Locanda – one of those wonderful little honeymoon locations , where we all were going to have lunch. But, one way or the other, we never made it to Torcello that day but remained in Venice until closing time! I of course now cannot, by the best will in the world, remember what each and everyone had ordered that day, except I do remember, that I had “Risotto primavera” (Spring Risotto) making use of many of the vegetables grown near the Locanda on Torcello. This dish was created and recommended to me by Arrigo Cipriani himself – so how could I refuse? It was a dish so divine, that I never, with all my travels around the world, have forgotten the smell and taste of this exceptional Risotto. He very kindly gave me permission to use this recipe in my own blog or book. And before I forget let me tell you – this dish is really very easy to prepare, so do not be put off by the length of the ingredients list. I hope that you enjoy this risotto as much as I did then and in fact once again only two days ago when I tried to recreate this for my post here.
For: 6
For the spring vegetables you need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
250 g of shiitake mushrooms; thinly sliced (I used button mushrooms)
3 small artichokes, thinly sliced (were not available)
1 tsp onion, finely chopped
4 small zucchini, diced (I used green ones)
12 asparagus spears cut into short lengths
1 large slice of red capsicum, cut into pieces
1 small leek, white part only, cut into short lengths
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Risotto you need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
150 g risotto rice (I used Arborio)
1.5 l chicken stock
40 g butter
3 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper
To prepare the vegetables: heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then remove it from the pan and discard. Add the artichokes and cook for 8-10 minutes, then add the onion and cook for a further 2 minutes. Finally, add the Zucchinis (courgettes), asparagus, red pepper and leek, increase the heat to high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
To prepare the Risotto: heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Stirring the rice, lower the heat, add about 120 ml of the stock and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Gradually add more stock as each addition is absorbed. After about 15 minutes, when the risotto is half-cooked, add the vegetables and continue to cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender and creamy. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For a softer risotto stir in a few more tablespoons of stock.
Serve with extra grated Parmesan.
And the next time Jo and I are in Venice, maybe we find the time to once again enjoy Cipriani’s splendid hospitality.
Ciao Carina
Anyone 4 Curry & Other Things 
Good idea to post this recipe…
(I’ve been to Cipriani only once in my life but I still remember what we had that day…..)
Thank you for sharing this Risotto!
Hope you will make it one day and enjoy – I am just missing out on a lovely glass of wine….:)
Yum! All around yums in fact, Carina: Venice, primavera veggies as risotto … but I’ll have to be content with dreaming and remembering – no trips to Venice in the next couple of years, and I’ve sworn not to buy unseasonal vegetables (and fruits) now I’m back in Oz. 🙂
Dont miss out on this lovely treat – just use what’s in season, but never ever aubergines. I can not get artichokes here, fresh or tinned, so I just cut very small the (soft) stalks of my asparagus and mixed them into the risotto – delicious.
Nice Venice and wonderful photos 🙂
thank you, Niko. I had such lovely photos from that time, but, travelling around the world and living in a tropical country have done them no good. Photos go – but good memories never 🙂
Yes, you’re right, memories are for good 🙂
I am not a great fan of risotto texture, but this sounds tasty so I might give it a try and adjust to my taste.
I assure you my friend, it is really very tasty – do give it a go. The good thing is, you can use any nice spring vegetable, but never ever aubergines!!!
Excellent Carina Keep up the good work
Jaya, I will try 🙂 and for you I can only sing right now ….. Viva Espana. Enjoy.
Ciao Carina, Thank you for this lovely recipe from memory lane. Being vegi, this is right up my street! If you are in Tuscany for the 28th June, send me your email address and I will forward an invite to my Rock Concert Garden Party. june.fnnigan@virgin.net
Oh June, I only wish 🙂 in our case you can never tell where we will be at the end of June. Most likely home for a little while. Thanks for your kind invite and good luck.
Mmmmm … sounds delicious. Harry’s Bar in Venice is where I tried a Bellini for the first time 🙂
Fransi, obviously you too have very good and happy memories!!!:) Did you ever go out to Torcello?
As I’m at home with the flu today I could really do with one of your Bellini’s, Carina
Dallas, poor you! Wish I could send the Barman over – but one Bellini is not enough:)
It has been way too many years since I was in Venice. Since I cannot be there, I will enjoy your photos and go shopping for spring vegetables.
Karen, don’t wait too long. Just go and have fun.
A timely recipe with spring vegetables coming in soon.
Norma, your own beautiful vegetables will go well with this.
This sounds wonderful!
Venice is my most favorite city in the world. We were there in 1998 when John Glenn went back into space aboard the space shuttle. My husband, a real space nut, wanted to see the launch. We figured that Harry’s would be the perfect place — an American Bar would have CNN, right? I was designated to ask and the bartender looked at me like I was nuts. I tried several different ways to explain and finally said we wanted to #see the space launch.” Again he looked at me as if I was crazy, and swung his arm around the fairly empty room and said “Space? We have plenty of space!” Not surprisingly, we missed the launch. But Venice was wonderful!
Elyse, I just read your comment here and have not stopped laughing. What a lovely funny story – when eventually you can go back don’t miss popping into Harry’s. Things have changed thou -especially the prices. Carina
What a strange find! We stayed at the smaller hotel on torcello… and my wife had this both nights…and has talked about it since. One of her favorite all time dishes. Thank you!
I dont hold out high hopes of replication… sonething tells me its the place.. the local foods.. etc that make the food … but i relish the opportunity to try.
Matt
thank you, Matt. And I was happy to read that you and your wife had such a good time on Torcello! But, with respect, I do not quite agree with you regarding replication of the food you both had.
Put some candles on the table, a bunch of flowers in a vase, soft italian! music…..the whole jazz 🙂 And most likely you want to go back to this beautiful little island, as we do. Ciao