No. 2980

Risot a la Ristori

Prepare a risot the same as with Piedmontese truffles (No. 2981); dress half of it in a casserole or vegetable dish so as to cover the bottom and sides; in the center place a garnishing of cocks'-combs and kidneys, escaloped duck's liver and sliced truffles; cover this garnishing with espagnole sauce (No. 414) reduced with Marsala wine; mask with the remainder of the risot and this with peeled halved tomatoes pressed out and fried in oil, keeping them as whole as possible. Serve apart a little clear gravy (No. 404) and grated parmesan.

← No. 2979 Risot a la Francatelli Macaroni, Rice & Farinaceous No. 2981 Risot with Piedmontese Truffles →

For the Modern Kitchen

A composed risotto timbale from Delmonico's kitchen, built on the truffle risotto of the following entry and finished with a garnish that no longer exists in most markets. The construction is the point: two layers of rice with a sauced garnish sealed between them.

Casserole means the panIn Ranhofer's usage a casserole is a deep round cooking dish brought to table, not a modern baked-in ceramic. Any straight-sided ovenproof dish or a charlotte mould works; the rice is pressed against the bottom and sides to form a shell.
Read No. 2981 firstThe base is the Piedmontese truffle risotto, and everything about cooking the rice, moistening it and finishing it is in that entry, not this one. Nothing here tells you how to cook the rice, so the cross-reference is not optional.
Cocks' combs and kidneysCombs were blanched, peeled of their outer skin and simmered until gelatinous; "kidneys" here means cockerel testicles, not kidneys. Neither is available outside specialist butchers. Sweetbreads, poached and diced, give a comparable soft texture in the garnish.
Escaloped duck's liverThin slices of fattened duck liver, seared briefly in a dry hot pan and drained. Foie gras escalopes need well under a minute a side; held longer they render away to nothing.
The espagnoleNo. 414 is the classic brown sauce built on a brown roux and veal stock, long simmered. A well-reduced homemade veal or duck stock, thickened lightly and finished with Marsala reduced almost to a glaze, gives the same effect without a two-day sauce base. The sauce must be thick enough to stay put between the rice layers.
The tomatoesPeel, halve crosswise, squeeze out seeds and juice, then fry cut-side down in oil so they hold their shape. They are a decorative crown over the top layer of rice, not a sauce; wet tomatoes will slump the whole thing.
Serve it hot and quicklyRisotto set in a mould stiffens as it cools and the starch tightens. Assemble at the last moment and send it out with the clear gravy (No. 404, essentially a reduced clear stock) and grated parmesan on the side.

A Little History

Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) was the leading Italian tragedienne of her century, famous for Medea and Lady Macbeth, and she toured the United States repeatedly from the mid-1860s onward. Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's for over thirty years, routinely named dishes for the singers, actors, politicians and financiers who ate there, and an Italian risotto layered with truffles and foie gras for an Italian actress fits that habit exactly; the attribution records who was being flattered rather than who cooked. The dish also shows how thoroughly Piedmontese risotto had been absorbed into the French grand-restaurant repertoire by the 1890s: the rice and the parmesan are Italian, but the espagnole reduced with Marsala, the cocks'-combs garnish and the moulded presentation are pure Carême-descended French service.