Whodunnit Dinners podcast #6 Donna Leon: Venetian village life, smart squid and catty chickens
Welcome to the blog post that accompanies Whodunnit Dinners podcast #6. We generally recommend you listen to the podcast first - so this blog is more of a dessert following the main course - but you may find yourself doing things the other way round and heading off to listen to the podcast after this blog post has whet your appetite, which is all fine by us! We’re just glad you’ve turned up to share our love of murder mysteries, food and spending time with friends.
Who is Donna Leon?
In Whodunnit Dinners Podcast episode #6, Helen introduces Katie to an author who had previously not been on our radar at all. Swiss/American writer Donna Leon, turns out to be one of the Times’ 50 greatest crime writers, with admirers including acclaimed novelist Ursula Le Guin. The novel we discuss is called ‘So Shall you Reap’, a Commissario (Superintendent) Brunetti mystery set in modern Venice.
Helen picked the book up when browsing in a book shop in early summer and daydreaming of the long school vacation just round the corner, when she read on the blurb: ‘‘Like all of Leon’s novels it ultimately feels like a glorious invigorating holiday’ upon which she thought, ‘that’s the one for me!’ And it turned out to be the perfect choice.
Although not Italian herself, Leon bases most of her books in Venice, a place where she lived for 25 years and still visits regularly today. As food features heavily in the Brunetti stories, she has even co-created with an Italian friend a cook book based around her leading man, called Brunetti's Cookbook. The recipes are joined by excerpts from the novels, four-color illustrations, and six original essays by Donna Leon on food and life in Venice.
In ‘So Shall You Reap’, the main character returns home to eat lunch most days during the working week. This has two effects: to showcase the importance of family life to Brunetti, but also to move the story along, as his conversations with his wife usually include aspects of the case he is working on.
Katie chose a classic risotto recipe to complement the brief Helen gave her at the end of Podcast Ep. 5: a modern Italian home-cooked lunch, such as might be served to Brunetti. It is a dish often associated with Venetian culture.
How to make vegetable risotto
2 tbsps olive oil
75g butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
Vegetables of your choice. I would suggest:
- 150g peas
- 2 x large beef tomatoes chopped
- 2 courgettes
- Small bag spinach or 5 lumps of frozen spinach
500g arborio rice
120ml white wine (optional)
2 litres boiling vegetable stock
50-75g grated Parmesan
Parsley to garnish (chopped or torn)
1. In a large pan heat the olive oil and 1/2 the butter
2. Add in the onion and garlic, cook until translucent but not turning brown/caramel
3. Now add the rice and toss it for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the wine and stir until the alcohol has evaporated (1-2 minutes)
5. Begin to add the vegetable stock little by little. Continue adding stock. After 10 mins add in your courgettes and tomatoes. Cook for a further 20 minutes. Keep adding in the stock so that the rice doesn’t burn.
6. Finally add in the peas and spinach.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter and parmesan and let that sit for a few minutes to absorb.
8. Serve with the chopped parsley.
Listen to the podcast
If you want to hear more about Donna Leon, Brunetti or just to unpick the references to smart squid and catty chickens in the blog title, check out Whodunnit Dinners podcast #6 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from!