Farmer's Risotto with Chicken Livers

A rustic classic of the Italian peasant table — Carnaroli rice with chicken livers and gizzards, simmered with red wine and tomatoes, finished with Parmigiano and a knob of butter. Poor food turned prized specialty.

Amount	Ingredient
10½ oz (300 g)	Carnaroli rice
10½ oz (300 g)	chicken livers and gizzards
¼ cup	Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1	onion
½ cup	dry red wine
10½ oz (300 g)	peeled tomatoes (canned)
1 quart (1 L)	hot chicken broth
2 tbsp	extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp	butter
1 sprig	fresh rosemary
	fine salt, black pepper

This is the risotto of the old farmhouse kitchen: chicken livers and gizzards — the parts richer families threw away — slowly cooked with onion, rosemary, red wine, and peeled tomatoes into a rustic, deeply savory sauce. The rice is added and finished in that same pan, absorbing every drop of flavor. A mantecatura of Parmigiano and butter makes it creamy. Once a "poor" dish, it's now a prized trattoria specialty — and it costs almost nothing to make.

Ingredient notes: Chicken livers and gizzards (ventrigli) are the heart of this dish — ask your butcher. Clean them carefully: remove any fat and, most importantly, the bile sacs from the livers, or the whole dish turns bitter. If livers are hard to find, chicken hearts are a good substitute.

• Large saucepan (for the risotto)
• Chef's knife and cutting board
• Wooden spoon
• Ladle

1. Clean the livers (10 min). Remove any fat and the small bile sacs from the livers. Wash everything thoroughly and cut into small pieces.
2. Soffritto (3 min). Warm a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion cut into thin slices and the rosemary sprig. Sauté until soft.
3. Brown the livers (5 min). Add the livers and gizzards and brown for 5 minutes, until well seared.
4. Deglaze (1 min). Pour in the red wine and let it evaporate.
5. Simmer the sauce (20 min). Add the peeled tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a ladle of broth. Cook about 20 minutes, until the gizzards are tender and soft, keeping the sauce fairly liquid.
6. Cook the rice (15 min). Crumble a few livers with a fork, add the rice, and continue cooking, adding a ladle of broth from time to time and stirring to amalgamate.
7. Manteca (3 min). When cooked, remove the rosemary sprig and mantecare with the Parmigiano and a knob of butter. Rest a few minutes and serve.

• Clean the bile sacs meticulously. One broken bile sac makes the entire dish bitter — this is the one step you cannot rush.
• Keep the sauce liquid. Don't let it dry out before the rice goes in — the rice needs that liquid.
• Crumble some livers. Mashing a few pieces into the sauce spreads the flavor through every grain.
• Rosemary in, rosemary out. It perfumes the dish while cooking; remove it before the mantecatura.
• Red wine, not white. The rustic character needs the depth of red.
• Rest before serving. A few minutes off the heat lets it settle into creaminess.

Mistake	Why It Hurts	The Fix
Leaving the bile sacs	Bitter, ruined dish	Remove them meticulously
Searing too hot	Tough, chewy livers	Medium heat, 5 minutes
Dry sauce before the rice	Rice cooks unevenly	Keep a ladle or two of liquid
Skipping the rosemary	Missing rustic depth	One sprig, removed at the end
Over-salting	Livers and broth bring salt	Taste before adding salt
Overcooking the rice	Mushy risotto	Al dente, then mantecare

• White Wine Version: Swap the red for white for a lighter character.
• Pancetta Farmer's: Add crisped pancetta with the livers.
• Sage Farmer's: Use sage instead of rosemary.
• Creamy Twist: A spoonful of mascarpone in the mantecatura.
• Tomato-Free: Skip the tomatoes for a wine-and-broth-only version.

Storage Method	Details
Refrigerator	Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Freezer	Not recommended — the creamy emulsion breaks.
Reheating	Warm gently in a skillet with a splash of broth, stirring until creamy.

A rustic dish deserves honest wines:

• Chianti Classico — Cherry and earth, perfect.
• Barbera — Bright acidity cuts the richness.
• Sangiovese — The classic peasant pairing.
• Montepulciano — Soft, generous, fruity.

Per Serving (about 1¼ cups)
Calories	560
Protein	26 g
Fat	16 g
Carbohydrates	74 g
Fiber	3 g

Nutrition values are approximate and will vary with brand choices and substitutions.

What are ventrigli?

Chicken gizzards — the muscular stomach of the bird. Slow-cooked, they become tender and deeply flavorful.

Why is it called "farmer's" risotto?

It comes from the peasant tradition: cooks used the cheaper chicken parts — livers and gizzards — that wealthy families discarded.

Do I really need to remove the bile sacs?

Absolutely — they're intensely bitter and would ruin the whole dish. Cut them out carefully.

Can I use only livers?

Yes — if gizzards are hard to find, all-liver works beautifully.

Is this expensive?

No — chicken livers and gizzards are among the cheapest cuts at the butcher.

• Risotto alla Salsiccia (Volume 3)
• Risotto del Re (Volume 3)
• Risotto con Crema Gialla al Parmigiano (Volume 3)

Recipe from "The Italian Kitchen" by Vita Milanese — Volume 3: Risotto & Rice

Recipe from The Italian Kitchen by Vita Milanese — Volume 3 · Risotto & Rice. Discover all volumes on the ebook page.