Riso Sartù

Name: Riso Sartù
Yield: 6 small molded rice cakes or timbales, serving 6 as a first course
Ingredients: 2 to 3 tablespoons soft butter; 2 tablespoons or more grated cheese or fine dry bread crumbs; 1 1/2 cups Ragù alla Bolognese (page 143); 3/4 cup frozen peas; 2 1/2 cups cooked risotto (page 224); 2/3 cup grated cheese*; 1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and sliced lengthwise in quarters, then crosswise in thirds, so you have 12 small chunks; 1/3 cup packaged (pressed) mozzarella cut into tiny cubes, 1/4 inch or smaller; 2 ounces paper-thin prosciutto cut into small strips (each about the size of a paper clip!); 3 tablespoons grated cheese; The best molds to form the dome-shape risotto cake pictured here are ceramic custard cups with a 5-ounce capacity and rounded bottom. Tapered metal timbale molds of the same size are also suitable. Miniature soufflé-type ramekins, 4-or 5-ounce capacity, can be used but may be harder to unmold, because of the broad bottom.

December 14, 2011

With its developed flavor and moist, saucy consistency, risotto is still special the day after—it’s not just cold rice. Riso Sartù is a dish I always enjoy when visiting my cousin Clara Pacelli in Naples. It is one of the most wonderful ways I know to transform cooked risotto into something new. The risotto is blended with meat sauce, green peas, and lots of grated cheese and packed into small molds with morsels of egg, prosciutto, and mozzarella hidden inside. Baked and then unmolded, the cakes are crisp and crunchy outside—as you can see in the photo below—and creamy and chock-full of treats inside. This recipe makes six cakes with 2 1/2 cups of risotto and a cup of Ragù alla Bolognese (page 143) as the meat sauce. It is easy to multiply the formula if you have more risotto and sauce, and ovenproof cups to serve as molds. This dish might be made today with leftovers, but traditionally it was the specialty of the Neapolitan aristocracy, and risotto was made expressly for it.

Cooks' Note

*Altogether you will need 1 well-packed cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, used in the amounts given above.

Recipe notes