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RISOTTO "ALLA SBIRRAGLIA"

 

A recipe I call "historic" because it is linked to events during World War I.
First of all, its name, which comes from "sbirri", the name for Austrian soldiers during the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Italy during 1917 and 1918. My grandmother Ida (who was born in 1876), would recount that during WWI, the Austrian soldiers invaded local homes, requisitioning the chickens in the courtyard. In addition, the Austrian officials expected to be hosted by the farmers and their families.
The women prepared
stewed chicken for them. And to make the dish heartier, they used rice from the rice fields found in that era in Summaga di Portogruaro (the town my family is from), to prepare a risotto with the sauce from the stewed chicken. Each plate of risotto was then served with a piece of stewed chicken.
This dish has become a tradition in our countryside. I remember even after the Second World War it was brought to farmers in the fields during the harvest as a one-pot midday meal.


Serves 4: 350 g Sant'Andrea or Ribe- or Carnaroli-type rice, 350 g chicken (thigh and breast),  100 g celery, 100g carrot, 100 g onion, 150 g crushed tomatoes, sprig of rosemary, ⅓ cup Moletto Lison Classico wine, 4 T Moletto Extra-virgin olive oil Integrale, salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese to taste.
To prepare: Finely dice the vegetables and gently sauté them in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the chicken cut into large pieces, brown and moisten with the wine. After five minutes, add the crushed tomatoes, finely chopped rosemary and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer. When cooked, remove the chicken, let cool and cut into pieces. Begin cooking the rice in the chicken pan juices, stirring constantly and gradually adding meat stock as needed. When ¾ cooked, add the chicken pieces. Before serving, salt and pepper to taste and fold in a knob of butter and generous amount of parmesan cheese.
Recommended wines:
Lison Classico Docg Lison
Rosato Igt Veneto Orientale