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Sartu di Riso

Sartu di Riso is a traditional Neoplitan dish served with all delicious ingredients like risotto, meat sauce, meatballs, and a hearty helping of cheese.

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Ingredients

Sauce

Olive oil
2 cloves garlic smashed
½ yellow onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
2 carrots diced
1 lb ground sausage
1 tbs tomato paste
¼ cup red wine
1 jar of tomato passata
¼ cup water

Meatballs

1 ½ cups seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs add more if too dry
½ cup milk
2 tbs dried mint or fresh if you have
Sprinkle of salt
½ cup pecorino cheese
½ lb ground meat
Frying olive oil

Risotto

1 shallot
1 ½ cups risotto
4-5 cups water
3-4 tsps tomato bouillon powder
Knob of butter
Sprinkle of pecorino romano

Additional

1/2 block of mozzarella diced

Instructions

Sauce:

To a pot add olive oil, smashed garlic, diced onions, celery, and carrots. Sautee until onions are translucent
Add pork sausage and sautee till no longer pink.
Add tomato paste and splash of red wine
Add tomato passata and a little water (added to the sauce jar to get remaining passata) and bring to a boil than reduce to a low flame and let simmer for at least 30 minutes but can be up to an hour or two till you reach desired consistency of thicker sauce.
Add frozen peas during the last 5-10 minutes.
Remove the whole cloves of garlic and then set aside.

Meatballs:

In a bowl, add breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, pecorino cheese, mint, and salt. Mix till moist breadcrumb mixture is formed.
Add ground beef and mix well
Form tiny little meatballs (around a teaspoon size)
Once all the balls are formed, add a frying olive oil to a pan and fry till the meatballs are no longer pink and fully cooked.

Risotto:

Prepare a shallot by dicing it finely. Prepare risotto by rinsing and draining.
To a pot, add water and tomato bouillon to form stock. Bring to a light simmer so that the stock is hot and ready when you begin the risotto.
To large enough pan with high sides add olive oil, shallots, and rinsed risotto. Let the risotto toast a little in the pan, you should see the grains color will change as it absorbs some of the oil.
Once the shallots have become translucent and the grains have begun to change color, start ladeling a spoon or two of the stock.
As the risotto absorbs the stock, you will see the liquid evaporate and you should be able to push a spoon through the risotto and leave a streak before it comes back together again. At this point, add more stock.
Remove from the heat and add a little butter and pecorino cheese.
Continue to do this until the Risotto is fully cooked.
Once cooked, transfer to a flat baking sheet to cool and set aside.

Assembly

Dice ½ a block of mozzarella into little cubes.
Grease a bundt pan with butter
To the bundt pan, sprinkle in bread crumbs to coat all the sides
Add a layer of risotto and form around all the edges leaving a well in the middle to add filling.
Add a layer of meatballs, chopped mozzarella and sauce.
Sprinkle pecorino cheese over the sauce.
Add remaining risotto to cover the and form a flat a top.
Top with breadcrumbs and thin slivers of butter.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes
Let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool. Then place on serving dish and flip over carefully. Tap the bottom of the bundt pan to ensure it loosened.
If it messes up, it is totally ok. Just scrape the parts that stuck and assemble it again. (Believe me no one will notice)

Optional Garnishing

To the center of the Sartu di Riso, add remaining little meatballs.
Top with fresh grated pecorino and a few leaves of basil (totally optional but it makes it pretty.
When serving, cut into slices and add extra meatballs and a little spoonful of sauce.

Video

Delusional Cooking Show | Episode Sartu di Riso

Everything You Could Ever Ask for in One Dish

In my Sicilian family, there is a coveted dish that is very rarely made nowadays, but my Nonna use to make it and it was phenomenal. That dish was a timballo. I have yet to find a recipe that rivals it and every time I have tried, I just long for the flavors my Nonna would make. But while researching, I found the Napoli’s version of the Sicilian Timballo and it was called “Sartu di Riso.” Instead of the typical angiletti pasta, Sartu di Riso used Risotto. Rich, creamy, and delicious risotto. How could one resist? As I read more, I found it had everything one could ever want in a dish. Rice, Check. Meatballs, Check. Cheese, Check. Sauce, Check. How hearty and rich is this!

And to add more to it, it was served in the shape of a beautiful bundt pan. I saw a few different ways that people topped it off, some pouring sauce over the top, others just adding cheese, while a few filled the center with meatballs. As always, I researched and gathered pieces from different recipes to sort of concoct a version that I could make. I still have some tweaking to do of course, but in the meantime, here is this work of art.

And to always give credit, the three recipes I gathered from were:

So, please, experiment. Try mine, try theirs, find your own. Whatever it is that makes you happy, but I know, that this Sartu di Riso will certainly bring a smile to your face.