A SUMMER risotto festival was launched today at Italian restaurant Strada in Newcastle.
It marked the start of six weeks of celebrations showcasing the venue’s signature dish in a variety of guises.
The Risotto Festival aims to offer an extensive variety and choice, as well as to celebrate all that is wonderful about the dish, the origins of which can be found in northern Italy, in the Piedmont, Milan, Lombardy and Venetian areas, where rice rules the day!
Rice came to Italy in the 10th Century and the north of the country took to farming it five centuries later and have since made it their own regional signature dish.
The region has remained the premier rice growing and rice eating area of Italy to this day. In the same way that people in the rest of Italy put plates of piping hot pasta on the table at every main meal, northerners resort to rice.
“Risotto is one of our favourite dishes,” said Strada head chef Richie Brent. “Not only because it can be prepared with ingredients that are delicate or hearty enough to make it a primo piatto or a main course, but because cooking the dish is almost as satisfying as eating it!
“We are all excited about the festival as it will give people the chance to sample a wide variety of different dishes, priced from £8.95.”
Strada is located in the new development in Old Eldon Square.
