2022 Giro d’Italia - Stage 11: Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia.
Happy hump day, and that aligns perfectly with today’s stage. No, it’s not a hilly stage, in fact it’s quite flat. But today is the precise mid-point of the 2022 Giro. There have been 10 preceding stages, and there will be 10 more after today. One thing I love about these tours is they also feature food or wine for one or two stages along the route, and I try to do something a little extra myself on these stage days as well.
Today is the Parmigiano-Reggiano food stage. While I could’ve bought an entire wheel of cheese and prepared pasta for dozens of my friends, I chose something a bit more affordable. To be honest, when I decided what to do, I had a bit of a panic. You see, I have another wheel-shaped item I’ve cooked before and it was a bit of a nightmare. But, this is fairly simple and delicious and your children (or guests) will get a kick out of it. So, I present to you my Bomba di Riso; a ring of cheesy arborio rice which envelops a delicious sausage ragù…or in other words, a rice bomb! The rice, crispy on the outside but cheesy and supple on the inside, had a surprising twist with the capers. This was a delicious, successful, surprise.
Bomba di Riso (Rice Bomb)
If you don’t want to purchase a savarin mold (you can find them on Amazon), you can totally use any fluted pan or a bundt pan. You can even use muffin tins. Have leftover risotto? Make some arancini!
2 cups arborio rice
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tbsp capers, minced
Butter
Small onion, minced
½ lb spicy italian sausage (ground would be preferable)
½ lb meatloaf mix ground meat
Celery rib, minced
Carrot, minced
14 oz canned whole tomatoes
½ cup beef stock
Prepared Italian breadcrumbs
Pour the rice into a large pot and cover with a couple inches of salted water. Bring to a boil and par-cook the rice, for about 8 minutes or so, and drain in a fine mesh sieve. Do not rinse the rice! Pour the rice onto a baking sheet and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of evoo. Mix with a wooden spoon and allow to cool.
When the rice has cooled, transfer to a bowl and mix in the eggs, cheese, and minced capers. Taste for any seasoning needs.
While the rice cools, add 2 tbsp each of butter and evoo to a skillet, or small dutch oven, and heat over medium. Sauté the minced onion, with a pinch of salt, until softened, about 5-7 mins. Increase the heat to medium-high and add in the meat, celery, and carrot, with another pinch of salt and some ground black pepper. Once the meat has browned, add in the canned tomatoes, and their sauce, along with the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and maintain a steady simmer for about 30 minutes, until the ragù has tightened-up.
While the ragù cooks down, butter your savarin mold, or other pan, with butter and dust with breadcrumbs, tipping out any excess. Preheat the oven to 400.
Once everything has been prepared, put some rice into the mold and make a well all around the ring. Add the ragù into the well and cover with more rice. Sprinkle the top (really the bottom, but you get it) with breadcrumbs and add some tiny pieces of butter all over the rice.
Place on a baking sheet and cook in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden (see right photo above). Let the rice bomb cool for about 10 minutes. Then place a plate on top of the mold and flip everything over. Place the place down on the counter and remove the mold from the rice ring. Slice up and enjoy!
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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