Rice and peas, rizi-bizi!

Some say “pea risotto” and some say “rizi-bizi!” Though such risotto is eaten in many places, this name is often used for it in areas around the Adriatic Sea and in Eastern Europe, for example in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria. The name rizi-bizi is a derivative of “risi e bisi,” which means “pea rice” in the Venetian dialect. It was a traditional dish in the Venetian republic mainly enjoyed on April 25th, the feast day devoted to their patron saint, Marko. It was made using fresh peas, which would be good to eat in the spring. The original version of this dish contained as much or more peas than rice and was quite liquid, almost like a soup. The original Venetian recipe also included bacon, so we have replaced this with other vegetables.

Peas are actually very nutritious food. Dried peas contain as much as 25% protein, as well as lots of fiber, folic acid, and other vitamins and iron. It also contains lots of starch.


Recipe, preparation, and cost

 

Quantity

(g or ml)

Price for 4 person (EUR)

Main dish

Olive oil

10

0,06

Carrots

80

0,08

Paprika

80

0,26

Peas

400

1,95

Rice

300

0,30

Salt

2

0,00

Side dish

Tomato sauce

150

0,22

Salt

2

0,00

Salat

Lettuce

150

0,56

Beans

250

0,37

Olive oil

5

0,03

Apple cider vinegar

3

0,01

Salt

1

0,00

Together

3,84

 

 

First, we pan-fried carrots in olive oil before adding peppers, using a combination of red and white ones. Once the vegetables had softened a bit, we added rice and fried it a little before adding water. When the rice was half-cooked, we added canned peas along with their liquid. In the end, we salted and seasoned the dish to taste. Our dish was less liquid than the traditional Venetian version but still yummy! Since we had made something similar recently, we decided to change this up even more by adding tomato sauce, which was made by boiling canned tomatoes before adding salt and basil. However, as we get into summer months when fresh produce will be readily available, we would definitely shift to using these nice, fresh, local options. In addition to our main course, we also prepared a simple green salad with beans.

The price for today’s 4-person lunch came to less than 4€, which means less than 1€ per person! If you used fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones, it would be a bit more expensive since the tomato season has not quite begun yet.


Nutritional value

With lunch consumed quantity

% From daily needs

Energy

505,33

kcal

25,30

Proteins

16,89

g

30,20

Total fats

5,02

g

10,03

Carbohydrates

98,21

g

196,43

Starch

71,38

g

 

Sugar

9,90

g

 

Fibers

16,34

g

65,40

Calcium (Ca)

107,02

mg

10,70

Iron (Fe)

7,17

mg

71,70

Magnesium (Mg)

106,60

mg

26,70

Phosphorus (P)

313,39

mg

44,80

Potassium (K)

860,64

mg

43,00

Sodium (Na)

819,19

mg

148,90

Zinc (Zn)

2,93

mg

29,30

Copper (Cu)

0,55

mg

61,60

Manganese (Mn)

1,85

mg

80,40

Selenium (Se)

15,53

µg

31,10

Vitamin A

381,28

µg

38,10

Vitamin E

1,68

mg

11,20

Vitamin D

0,00

µg

0,00

Vitamin C

48,38

mg

48,40

Thiamin (B1)

0,91

mg

69,90

Riboflavin (B2)

0,30

mg

20,30

Niacin (B3)

6,50

mg

44,80

Pantothenic acid (B5)

1,56

mg

26,00

Vitamin B6

0,61

mg

40,40

Folic acid (B9)

355,88

µg

89,00

Vitamin B12

0,00

µg

0,00

Vitamin K

81,50

µg

116,40

 

With today’s lunch, we consumed about 25% of our daily caloric requirements. With this, we managed 30% of our protein requirements, 10% of our fats, and an amazing 65% of our fibre requirements for the day, mainly from the peas, rice, and beans in the salad. These ingredients are also rich in iron and managed to contribute the majority of the 71% of our daily iron requirements that we ingested. We also managed to do well for magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc, the last two of which are of particular importance to the proper functioning of the immune system. We fell a bit short on calcium, though this could easily be made up for in other meals. We also managed to get lots of vitamins, though we were lacking vitamins B12 and D, as is usual for unfortified vegan foods. 

If you have questions about today’s lunch (or ideas for future lunches) then feel free to write to us at info@hungry-pumpkin.com and we will get back to you!

Have a great weekend!

The Hungry Pumpkin Team

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