Festa di San Marco

In The Search for Risi e Bisi (Part 1), I described my quest to find and eat this iconic Venetian dish, in Venice. It should have been easy, right? It ended up being quite a challenge! Risi e Bisi, a humble yet elegant dish of fresh spring peas and rice is a cross between a soup and a risotto. Even though it’s a very traditional and seemingly important recipe, it’s nearly impossible to find in restaurants in the city.

Background So what is Risi e Bisi, and why on earth would I be searching for it? Well, according to every Venetian cookbook that I own, (and I have a boatload), Risi e Bisi is an iconic Venetian dish.  It’s a simple rice dish made with broth, risotto rice, fresh spring peas, and maybe a little pancetta. You hear about it everywhere – in travel guides, cookbooks (in English & Italian), food magazines, blogs, cooking shows, you name it. It’s important, I tell you, it’s everywhere… Except, well, in Venice.