The risotto earns its creaminess from stock that has slowly simmered. Sipping into every grain as the Parmigiano rind swims through leaving traces of it’s nutty, mild fruity aroma. This, plus a ‘sack’ of milky mozzarella and sweet peas that still has a little bite.
However, this wouldn’t be complete without the robust bolognese sauce. A result of minced beef coupled with plum tomatoes and vegetables that merge flavours over a gentle bubbling pot with one or two bay leaves to form something I can only describe as being worth your time. Layer all these to make a hearty sartu.
"The Parmigiano rind swims through leaving traces of it’s nutty, mild fruity aroma." Click To TweetI always look forward to every so often tasting a spoonful or two to ‘check’ if the rice is ready. In addition, what’s not to love when you can steal some time to wander off and relax or get ready as the rest of the magic happens in the oven?
The authentic sartu recipe is more ‘firm’ compared to this recipe. It also features ragu and eggs while mine does not have eggs or use ragu instead I use bolognese sauce.
Now hold on a minute…
Just because I gave the assumption of time-saving, that doesn’t mean it won’t take time. A little heads-up? Sartu can take a long to make if you do not already have bolognese sauce ripening with flavor somewhere in your fridge. Then, you could be looking at roughly 3 hours from start to finish. Yikes! I know I know, but look on the bright side- your diners will be so happy and full at lunch they might hopefully ask you to skip making dinner. Yeiii more ‘you time’!
But all hope is not lost- because another beauty of this recipe is that you do not need to use freshly made bolognese sauce which we know doesn’t exactly take 2 minutes to whip up. So make it ahead of time and store it in weight-labeled batches to use on the many recipes we have here for you.
Now, using leftover bolognese sauce for the sartu doesn’t mean you do not need to pay much attention to the other ingredients
Your risotto needs to be cooked through but not mushy and have a creamy perfectly salted result. And the peas shouldn’t be overcooked but still maintain their shape and vibrant green colour before you pop it into the oven.
Don’t shy away from using frozen peas, your wallet will thank you. Best of all is the parmesan rind, which I came to find makes the risotto even more creamy and flavourful.
Sartu needn’t be dry, so after 20 minutes on the stove take it off the fire. Add salt AFTER you have mixed the risotto and bolognese sauce. The reason behind this is so as not to have it too salty. The cheese is salty and you’ll be sprinkling some more in between the layers- so keep that in mind.
Oh dear sartu, where have you been hiding all my life?
Well, this is a typical dish from Naples. And there’s different varieties but the typical one is rice filled with peas, cheese, and ragu (meat sauce). Yes, i cheated a bit and used bolognese sauce instead. But stick around and we should have the authentic recipe up soon.
Please, read the directions to the end prior to beginning so you can organise yourself and how best to manage your time
*I am assuming that you have already made the bolognese sauce for this recipe that’s why it shows 50 minutes cooking time*. If not, click here to get started on that.
Cooking tips:
Use a deep and wide pan as you will be stirring a lot and don’t want a mess all on your stove.
If you do not have bolognese sauce then make some before you start anything else. When that is ready, you can move on to cooking the peas, and then the rice.
Make sure to taste the rice and meat mixture after you have added the butter and parmesan.
Please please do not undercook the onions or you will be terribly sorry. On medium heat let them turn translucent- then just before they start to turn brown add in the ingredients you’re working on. Sadly, this is a step you will have to have your eyes glued to that pan like a hawk!
The number of layers depends on the size of your baking dish. If it is large then chances are you may have only one layer so dont worry too much about the type of dish you have as long as it can fit in all the sartu.
If you happen to get distracted (while the rice is not yet ready) and the rice sticks to the bottom of the pan, DO NOT SCRAPE IT OFF. Take the pan off the fire and wait 30 seconds before giving it a little wiggle, then when it seems like most of the rice is not stuck you can gently stir keeping the end of the spatula stuck to the bottom of the pan. Of course, it may depend on how long the rice was left unattended.
Storage:
Keep leftovers in the fridge, and eat within a day. Packs well for lunch, and reheat until hot before consuming.
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Something Else You Should Try:
Sartu di riso Napoletano
(+5 rating, 1 votes)
Loading...This recipe is yet another idea to use up your arborio rice. No, it's not just meant for risotto and arancini but a mind-blowing sartu di riso Napoletano.
Ingredients
- 100g of green peas
- 3 tbsp finely chopped onion
- 200g arborio rice
- Olive oil
- 250g Bolognese sauce
- 80g dry white wine
- 50g Grated Parmesan or parmigiano reggiano
- 250 fresh mozzarella
- 1.1 litres of water/ vegetable stock (hot)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 sachet of saffron (optional)
- Parmigiano reggiano rind
- 35g butter
- Natural breadcrumbs
Instructions
Finely chop onions, grate the parmesan and measure out the rice, wine, peas and bolognese sauce
Stir the saffron to dissolve with the wine
Bring the water/ vegetable stock to a boil then set to simmer
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and saute half of the chopped onions over medium high heat for 2 min or until translucent and shrunken but not brown. Then toss in the peas and cook for 4 minutes, take it off the fire and set aside
No need to wash the pan, put it back on the fire and heat 4 tbsp of olive oil, then saute the leftover onions (about 2 heaped tbsp worth) for 1 1/2-2 minutes or until translucent but not brown.
Add in the rice and stir for about 2 min (make sure you are always turning the rice to ensure even cooking and avoid browning or burning). Pour in the wine mixture and stir through the rice until it evaporates then add the parmesan rind, a pinch of salt and half of vegetable stock as you maintain stirring. This should cook on high heat for 20 min.
Add a ladleful of water/stock after the first half has been absorbed.
While the rice cooks you can prepare the baking dish: lightly butter it and coat evenly with breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 220C as you assemble the sartu
When you take the risotto off the fire it should not be dry but still have a bit of stock. Stir in half of the parmesan and 25g butter.
Now add the bolognese sauce and after mixing with the rice make sure to taste for enough salt and pepper
Have all your ingredients within reach, with a spoon to scoop in each, i.e: parmesan, peas and risotto mixture.
Begin layering with the risotto mixture, then peas and a sprinkle of parmesan, top that with mozzarella. Repeat the layering until all the ingredients are assembled.
Using the back end of the spatula, even out the top then lightly sprinkle some breadcrumbs (about 3 tbsp) at the top with a few knobs of butter (about 10g worth).
Bake in the middle rack uncovered for 20 minutes
Serve while hot and take leftovers to work instead of having that sad sandwich from the convenient store!
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