Riso Venere con gamberetti e zucchine

Rice salads are a staple on summer tables in Italy. They’re an especially fine choice for cookouts and other summer get togethers, as they can (and in fact should) be made ahead, which frees you up to spend more time with your family or guests.

There are a countless ways to dress a rice salad. We’re seen a few on this blog, including one wtih seafood and another with meat. But there’s another, less obvious way to create variety, and that’s the changing up the rice. One of the most visually striking possibilities is a black rice romantically monikered riso Venero, literally meaning “Venus rice”. It is an excellent rice for salads as it stays firm and separate even when it’s fully cooked.

In this lovely rice salad, riso Venere is tossed with quickly sautéed shrimp and zucchini, fruity olive oil, mint, lemon zest and just a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. The black (actually a dark violet) rice provides a striking contrast to the pink crustacean and green vegetable. It’s a dish that’s bound to impress your guests.

And it tastes as good as it looks. Riso Venere has a pleasing nuttiness that pairs beautifully with the briny shrimp and sweet zucchini, there’s just enough lemon and herbs to brighten things nicely.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a first course, more as part of a buffet

• 450 g (1 lb) riso Venere (Italian black rice)
• 300 g (10-1/2 oz) baby shrimp, shelled
• 450 g (1 lb) zucchine, cut into dice
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and slightly crushed, or one shallot or small spring onion, finely minced
• the zest of one lemon
• freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
• a few sprigs of fresh mint, torn up or minced
• olive oil
• salt

Directions

Cook the rice

Boil the rice in well salted water until tender but still al dente, about 30 minutes.

When the rice is al dente, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold running water to stop it cooking.

Lay the rice out on a large baking sheet or other flat surface. Spread the rice out as thinly as you can. Let it cool completely.

Prepare the condimento

Meanwhile, in a skillet gently sautê the garlic or shallot or spring onion, until the garlic is just beginning to brown or the shallot or spring onion has turned soft and translucent. This should in both cases take only a minute or tow. If using garlic, discard it.

Raise the heat and add the diced zucchini, tossing it from time to time and seasoning it lightly. Drizzle in a few drops of water to speed cooking and prevent browning.

When the zucchini is almost tender, add the shrimp and toss again, Continue only until the shrimp turn pink, usually just a minute or so more. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Transfer the shrimp and zucchini, along with its cooking fat, to a bowl and set aside until needed.

Dress your rice

Once cool, transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl.

Pour in the sautéed shrimp and zuccchini, the lemon zest, minced mint and mix.

Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, then mix again. Taste and adjust for seasoning, including more oil and/or lemon juice if you think it needs it.

Let the rice sit for a hour or so to let the flavors meld. Any longer than that, place in the fridge.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes on riso Venere con gamberetti e zucchine

When judging portions, do bear in mind that riso Venere doesn’t expand nearly as much as regular rice after cooking, so when calculating portions, use a bit more rice than you would normally. That said, it does absorb lots of water, so be generous.

And speaking of water, do be aware that it will turn a dark violet and will stain your hands and cloths, so take some care when draining your rice!

More about riso Venere

Riso Venere is a hybrid rice varietal developed in the late 1990s by Sapise, a Sardinian-Piemontese agriculture research centure. They crossed an Asian black rice called Oryza sativa originating in the Yangtze River valley with native white rice from the Po Valley, where Riso Venere is principally grown today, around Novara and Vercelli in the Piemonte region, as well as around Oristano in Sardinia.

Riso Venere gets its distinctive color from anthocyanin. the same pigment that colors certain fruits and vegetables like blackberries, black beans, plums and concord grapes. Depending on its ph value, it can also turn plants dark red or purple, as in cherries and purple corn and red cabbage. It is also used as a food coloring.

Besides being delicious, riso Venere quite a healthy choice as well, being high in fiber and antioxidants, as well as a good source of Vitamin B and iron.

Riso Venere is a whole grain rice, so it take a bit longer to cook than other rice varietals, usually between 30 and 40 minutes. It has a distinctive savory nutty, savory flavor. It is most commonly used in rice salads like this one, where its ability to stay firm works so well, but you can also use it to make risotto or pilaf.

It’s not as easy to source as other Italian rices, but it is becoming more popular. Where I live, one of our local upscale supermarkets near me carries it, and you can purchase it online.

Variations

Measurements for this recipe are all over the map, but an easy to remember approach is going with the same amount of rice, shrimp and zucchini by weight. To my mind, this produces a nice balanced dish, neither too heavy not too light on the dressing. Once you’ve made this once, of course, you can adjust the measurements as suits your taste.

There are many variations on the dressing for this rice salad. You can use a medley of summer vegetables including cherry tomatoes and bell peppers rather than just the zucchini. For a lighter dish, you could poach the ingredients rather than sautêing them. Or just the vegetables raw. Switch out the shrimp in favor of some best quality canned tuna. And feel free to experiment with other fresh herbs; basil and marjoram are popular choices.

And of course, if you can’t find riso Venere, you could make this same dish with regular white rice. See this post for recommended varietals.

Making ahead and leftovers

You can make riso Venere con gamberetti e zucchine up to a day or two ahead, and keep it in the fridge. You could serve it cold right fro the fridge, but I think it has more flavor if you let it come back to room temp or near that. If you have leftovers, it even freezes decently well, vaccum packed.

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Riso Venere con gamberetti e zucchine

Italian Black Rice with Shrimp and Zucchini

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Antipasto, Primo

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: salad

Servings: 6

Calories: 399.8kcal

Ingredients

• 450 g riso Venere (Italian black rice)
• 300 g baby shrimp shelled
• 450 g zucchine cut into dice
• 1 clove garlic peeled and slightly crushed, or one shallot or small spring onion, finely minced
• 1 lemon, zest of
• freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
• a few sprigs of fresh mint torn up or minced
• olive oil
• salt

Metric – US

Instructions

Cook the rice

• In a large pot, boil the rice in well salted water until tender but still al dente, about 30 minutes.
• When the rice is al dente, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold running water to stop it cooking.
• Lay the rice out on a large baking sheet or other flat surface. Spread the rice out as thinly as you can. Let it cool completely.

Prepare the condimento

• Meanwhile, in a skillet gently sautê the garlic or shallot or spring onion, until the garlic is just beginning to brown or the shallot or spring onion has turned soft and translucent. This should in both cases take only a minute or tow. If using garlic, discard it.
• Raise the heat and add the diced zucchini, tossing it from time to time and seasoning it lightly. Drizzle in a few drops of water to speed cooking and prevent browning.
• When the zucchini is almost tender, add the shrimp and toss again, Continue only until the shrimp turn pink, usually just a minute or so more. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
• Transfer the shrimp and zucchini, along with its cooking fat, to a bowl and set aside until needed.

Dress your rice and serve

• Once cool, transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl.
• Pour in the sautéed shrimp and zuccchini, the lemon zest, minced mint and mix.
• Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, then mix again. Taste and adjust for seasoning, including more oil and/or lemon juice if you think it needs it.
• Let the rice sit for a hour or so to let the flavors meld. Any longer than that, place in the fridge.
• Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 399.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 13.1g | Fat: 11.4g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.9g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 1465.5mg | Potassium: 256.2mg | Fiber: 6.2g | Sugar: 3.3g | Vitamin A: 240.5IU | Vitamin C: 14.9mg | Calcium: 42.1mg

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