RISOTTO BIANCO(Veg HT MC Italian 40mins)
Serves 4 Hot Vegetarian Rice Grain Alcohol Main course Gluten Wheat free Italy Europe
Ingredients:
50g/2oz Butter
1 Onion, chopped
325g/12oz Risotto Rice
150ml/5 fl.oz. Dry white wine
900ml/30 fl.oz. Fresh hot Stock (approx)
Salt and Pepper
4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
Instructions
1. Melt two-thirds of the butter in a wide shallow saucepan. Fry the onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until it is golden, but not brown. Add the rice and stir over the heat for a further 2- 3 minutes.
2. Pour in the wine and cook over a high heat, stirring, until it has been absorbed.
3. Add one-third of the hot stock. Cook until the stock has been absorbed, stirring constantly.
4. Add another one-third of the stock and cook until the stock has been absorbed, stirring constantly.
5. Add the last one-third of the stock and continue to cook until the stock has been absorbed, stirring constantly. All in all it will take about 20 minutes from the time you start adding the stock. The end product should be quite wet and creamy.
6. Season with salt and pepper and fork in the remaining butter and Parmesan cheese. Serve the rice in a warmed serving dish, with extra Parmesan cheese.
RISOTTO WITH GORGONZOLAINGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups (500 g) Vialone Nano rice
5 tablespoons (50 g) unsalted butter
1/2 a medium onion, minced
1/2 a glass of dry white wine, warmed
Beef broth (have about 1 1/2 quarts simmering)
1/2 pound (200 g) Gorgonzola, slightly more than 1/3 dolce and the remainder piccante, diced and combined
1 tablespoon cream
PREPARATION:
Continuing with the introduction, there are two kinds of Gorgonzola: dolce, which is mild and creamy, with pleasing overtones, and piccante, which is crumblier and sharper, more along the lines of a Roquefort.
This recipe calls for both. Should you be unable to find Gorgonzola dolce the inside (less crust) of a Brie or Taleggio will work, whereas a lesser amount of Roquefort could be used to replace the Gorgonzola piccante.
Returning to the recipe, which is Lombard, and will serve 6:
Sauté the minced onion in the butter over a low flame until it is just golden. Remove the onion with a slotted spoon, turn the heat up slightly, and stir the rice into the drippings. Continue cooking for several minutes, stirring constantly lest the rice stick.
Return the onion to the rice, stir in the wine and continue cooking until it has evaporated. Begin adding broth a ladle at a time, When the rice is half cooked stir in the cheeses; continue adding broth until the rice is done, scraping your spoon across the bottom of the pot lest the rice and cheese mixture stick and burn. When the rice reaches the al dente stage stir in the cream and serve.
The wine? Difficult to say here. I think I might go with a Sauvignon Blanc, or one of the tarter Gavi di Gavis, which will have the proper acidity to balance the creaminess of the cheese.
MUSHROOM RISOTTOMushroom risotto is wonderful, especially in the fall when the mushrooms are freshly dried. If you cannot find porcini, use wild mushrooms. To serve 4:
INGREDIENTS:
A one-ounce packet dried porcini (25 g, about a packed half cup)
1/2 of a small onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, or: 3 tablespoons olive oil + 1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups (300 g) short-grained rice, for example Arborio or Vialone Nano
1/3 cup dry white wine, warmed in a pan on the stove
1 cup (50 g) frehsly grated Parmigiano
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream (optional)
The water the mushrooms were soaked in, strained, and a quart of simmering water, beef broth, or watery bouillon
A bunch of parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Steep the porcini in a cup of boiling water for fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, slice the onion finely and sauté it in either three tablespoons of oil or 1/4 cup of butter. When it's lightly browned remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon and stir the rice into the drippings in the pot.
Sauté the rice for several minutes, until it becomes translucent, stirring constantly lest it stick and burn.
Return the onions to the pot, stir in the wine, and continue stirring until it has evaporated completely. Then stir in a first ladle of liquid (if you're using plain water, add about 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt at this time), and while it's absorbing, chop the mushrooms and strain the liquid they soaked in, which can contain sand. Add the mushrooms and their liquid to the rice, then continue adding water or broth a ladle at a time, stirring occasionally. About five minutes before the rice is done, check seasoning. As soon as the rice is al dente, turn off the heat, stir in the remaining butter, half the cheese, the cream if you're using it, a little bit of ground pepper, the parsley, and cover the risotto for two minutes. Serve with the remaining grated cheese.
The wine? A light red, along the lines of a Sangiovese di Romagna or a Valcalepio Rosso would be nice.
Note: For a libidenous treat, use fresh wild mushrooms. If you have an abundance, and the mushrooms have large caps, I would use just the stems, chopping them, while grilling the caps (they're wonderful over a steak). If you don't have an abundance, or the cpas are small, use them too, and figure about a pound of wild mushrooms for four people.
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