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red wine risotto takes on a life of its own! You don't have to serve it only
with our
crusted salmon, because it goes with most any non-pasta Italian recipe
as a starter or part of the main meal.
We’ve given this one a gourmet boosting to enhance the
flavor. And, don’t be afraid to add your own “tweaks”. That’s what gourmet
Italian cooking is all about. How do you think we came up with all of
these recipes?
This red wine risotto recipe will feed about 4 as a main
dish, or 6-8 as a starter.
New Italian Recipes Presents
Red Wine Risotto
Ingredients:
About 6 cups of
chicken broth. Amount needed to finish the red wine risotto will vary,
so have a couple of extra cups at the ready, just in case).
Aside: This is not a hard adjustment to make, because you
can just add more or less broth along the way. You'll notice when it doesn't
need any more. Taste it. When almost all of the liquid is absorbed, AND THE
RICE IS TENDER ENOUGH FOR YOUR TASTE, it is done! (What a concept, huh?)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T minced shallots (or onions)
1 and 1/4 cups Italian Arborio rice
1/3 cup good quality red wine
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Aside: Crimini would be good in this red wine risotto but
white buttons are okay. If you have dried porcinis, use these. The juice
produced in reconstituting the porcinis can be used in the stock! You'll
love this touch, and so will your guests Note: For you Pseudo-Italians,
porcinis grow under chestnut trees and are a bit pricy, but not terribly
expensive when dried. Unique but very pleasant taste, for sure, can't
imagine anyone not liking these. Try them, especially in risottos.
10 fresh basil leaves
1 Sprig fresh thyme
2-3 T real butter or yogurt butter
2 T grated Romano cheese (Pecorino (ewe’s milk) for real Italian risotto
authenticity)
The grated Romano is essential in adding creaminess
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley for garnish
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to top
Preparation
Directions for Italian Red Wine Risotto:
This takes about 1/2 hour of cooking time.
In a large stock pot, heat the stock and herbs. Keep
simmering throughout preparation of the dish. Next, over medium heat in a
large, non-stick or cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil.
Add shallots or onions. Stir to coat for 1-2 minutes.
Add Arborio rice. Stir to coat rice really well, but do not
brown. (The purpose in coating the rice with olive oil is to help control
the absorption of the cooking stock) If the onions seem to have used up most
of the oil, add more. The Arborio HAS to be coated, or your red wine risotto
won't be as good as it can be.
Once coated, add the red wine and balsamic vinegar, and
allow most of it to be absorbed. The rice will be red, but don't fret, it's
supposed to be. It adds to the charm of the dish.
Add the mushrooms, stir in briefly, but do not allow the pan
to completely dry up.
Add enough stock with a stock spoon to cover the rice
completely and lower the heat to low. As the liquid level drops below the
rice slightly, add back enough stock to re-cover. Stir the rice occasionally
so that it does not stick and so it cooks evenly. This is low heat cooking,
so don't try and rush it. It's okay if you get some or all of the basil from
the simmering stock in the dish, but since the thyme is on its sprig, don't
let this get into the risotto itself, just the flavor.
Continue this process for about 20 more minutes. Taste the
rice at this point to see if it is almost tender. If so, allow the present
liquid level to drop until about 90 per cent absorbed. Stir in the butter
and Romano cheese vigorously, then turn off the heat. The butter and cheese
will provide that elegant "creaminess" that good risotto is noted for.
Garnish your red wine risotto with fresh Italian Parsley and
parmigiano-reggianno.
There you have it. A very traditional Italian dish. We add
some things to gourmet it up a bit. And, the reason we do this, is we feel
it's better this way. You decide, because your opinion is all that
matters to us.
Try a good Italian red wine with this. Spring for a
barbaresco or a Borolo from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, if you
want to splurge.
If these delightful but mostly expensive wines are not in
the budget right now, but you still desire to be daring, why not join
the
American Cellars Wine Club. Each month, you’ll will get a variety of
wines (you pick the number, the color(s), and the price range) that have
been personally selected by ACWC’s expert wine tasters and raters. Most of
these come from smaller vintners, and you probably won't ever find
them on the shelf of your local sommelier (in case this is an unfamiliar
term to you, that’s the wine girl or guy at your local liquor store).
We've been members for years and highly recommend the ACWC.
Bet you'll love it, too. Here's to Red Wine Risotto! Salud!
Buon appetito always!
Brought to you with love from
Aunt Aletha and Dear Old Dave
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