Spinach Risotto with Scamorza Cheese.

Spinach and Scamorza Risotto is one of the classical ones. 
Scamorza adds it's nice smoked flavour to the dish. What kind of cheese Scamorza is? The origin of this cheese is Southern Italy. It's similar to Mozzarella but it is aged more. Scamorza has a particular shape of a pear: while producing it they generally form the cheese in round shape and then tear one third of it to tie a string around it in order to dry the cheese. This is how it gets it's pear-like shape. Scamorza can be plain or smoked and for this recipe you need the smoked one...



INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 2

160-180g rice
150-200g spinach
125g smoked Scamorza cheese
50ml white wine
1/4 onion
1 garlic clove
1 handful grated Parmigiano
~1 veg. stock cube
3-4 tbs EVO oil
1tbs butter

1. Chop onion finely and cut garlic clove into halves.
2. Pour some EVO oil in a sauce pan and simmer the onion and garlic till the onion gets transparent. Discard garlic after browning.

 3. Add rice to the pan and stir, the rice will absorb the condiment and become partly transparent.
Note: Never wash rice for risotto!!!
4. Pour a splash of white wine and stir, wait till the wine looses the alcohol.

5. Add 150ml hot water and half a vegetable stock to the rice. Stir well and keep cooking at a low heat.
Note: You can always use your home-made vegetable broth is you have any. I suggest the stock cube for those who don't have much time to prepare the broth...
6. When the rice gets dry add 100ml of hot water. 

7. Meanwhile, wash and chop the spinach into thin squares or stripes.
8. When the rice is almost ready (after about 15 minutes) add the chopped spinach. Always check if the rice needs more water.
Note: Why don't we put all the water (broth) straightaway? By adding the water little by little, risotto will result in being creamier!!!   

9. After about 5 minutes risotto will be ready, so you will switch the heat off and add Scamorza cheese that you cubed finely. 

10. Add one handful of grated parmigiano cheese and some butter to season your risotto.
   

Buon Appetito!!!

Asparagus Risotto

Delicate and creamy Asparagus Risotto has a nice light green colour that recalls your senses to the fresh and soft meadows, spring breeze and sunshine. 
Asparagus is rich in Vitamins A, B and C and has a slight diuretic effect. This is what we need to prepare for summer and loose some weight eating delicious but light dishes.  


INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 2

250g asparagus
160g rice 
1/2 small onion
50ml of white wine
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
Parmigiano cheese
50g butter / EVO oil  

1. Peel the asparagus: using the vegetable peeler, peel the lower half of the spears, the hard part till the part that starts being flexible if you bend the asparagus.
2. Cut the upper 1/3 of the asparagus.

3. Cover the lower part of the asparagus with water just enough to cover it. Keet the asparagus tips aside.
4. Cook the asparagus for about 7-8 minutes, then add the asparagus tips and cook for 3-5 minutes more.
5. Drain the asparagus and keep the water.
6. Cut the peeled carrot and celery stalk into small parts and boil with the asparagus water for 10  
 minutes. This is how we prepare the vegetable broth that we'll use for risotto.

7. Chop the onion finely and simmer it with some butter till the onion gets transparent at a low heat.
Note: You may use the EVO oil if you are allergic or intollerant to butter... 
8. Add unwashed rise to the onion and stir well till rice gets transparent as well as the onion.
Note: Never wash rice for Italian Risotto!!!
    
9. Splash some white wine to the rice and keep cooking at a low heat till the wine looses it's particular smell.
10. Simmer your risotto adding half a glass of the veg. broth when it gets too dry and keep stirring. Cook for about 18 minutes (depends on a type of rice you use)

11. Puree the lower parts of asparagus with a blender.


 

12. Cut the upper parts of asparagus spears in halves and keep the very tips for decoration, cut the rest into thin disks. 

13. Add the asparagus puree and chopped asparagus to risotto and salt it with a couple of pinches of salt, try if it's enough. 
14. Stir well and cook for 3 more minutes.

15. Switch off the heat and add handful of grated Parmigiano cheese.


16. Decorate risotto with the asparagus tips and serve with some extra grated Parmigiano to your liking.

   ENJOY !!! Buon Appetito!!!

 

Pumpkin - Radicchio - Sausage Risotto

Cooking Risotto is really simple... but...only if you know some secrets! I don't mind revealing them...  This recipe is very rich as we use many different ingredients. You may adjust it a bit if you are cooking for someone who's vegetarian, just take away the sausage. There are two opposite tastes in this dish: sweetness from pumpkin and bitterness from Radicchio salad, but they perfectly accomplish each other. Follow the sequence as I specified and you will have a fully balanced taste...
 
INGREDIENTS :
Servings: 2

160g rice
2 sausages
250-300g pumpkin
radicchio (red chicory) salad
1/2 small onion 
50ml white wine
veg stock
600ml water
EVO oil 
Parmigiano cheese

1. Chop onion finely and brown it with some EVO oil in a frying pan. 
2. Add fresh sausages that you broke into small pieces and cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Cut pumpkin into medium cubes and add it to the sausage, mix well.
4. Add rice, mix well and let the rice absorb the oil and liquids of the sausage mix.
5. Splash with some white wine and let the alcohol evaporate.

6. Add about a glass of hot water and a 1/2 of vegetable stock. It's better to add water gradually while cooking risotto, it permits the starch to come out of the rice grains and so risotto will result in being creamier.
7. Keep cooking, stirring well and adding more water when needed. 

8. After about 15 minute the rice will be almost ready. So chop Radicchio salad leaves into fine stripes and add them to the rice. Stir well.
9. Cook for 3-5 more minutes. 

10. Switch the heat and add a hand-full of grated Parmigiano cheese. 
Note: This is called "mantecatura" in Italian, that means mixing and seasoning all together. When you add Parmigiano to your risotto do it after you switch off the heat, as if you keep the heat on, the cheese will melt and become filamentary. and it will spoil the creaminess of the dish.  

Serve with some additional Parmigiano on top. Buon Appetito!!!

 
 

Cuttlefish Ink Risotto - Risotto al Nero di Seppia

This dish looks strange and particular but tastes delicious!!! It's black in colour and has a strong sea taste... Even in Italy you won't find this dish in each and every restaurant. It's prepared with the ink of cuttlefish. 
Cuttlefish produces the ink that is released to have a possibility to hide itself in case it feels threatened. The ink is stored in kind of a bag that is delicately cut off the cattlefish when it's cleaned. You can also find the ink sold separately at fishmonger's.

INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 4

600-700g fresh cuttlefish (including the ink bag)
350g rice (Arborio type)
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
chilli
1/2 glass white wine
1 veg stock
salt
EVO oil
1200-1300 ml water (fish broth) 


 
1. Chop finely half an onion and cut into halves the garlic cloves.
2. Pour some EVO oil in a sausepan and cook onions and garlic till it's almost transparent. 


3. Cut cuttlefish body into stripes and the tentacles into small pieces.
4. Add cuttlefish to the onions, pour white wine and add chilli to taste.
5. Cook till the alcohol is evaporated, for about 5 minutes. Take the garlic out.

 
6. Add rice and mix well. Add about 200 ml of vegetable broth, if you have fish broth, it would be much better, but as I may understand not so many people keep fish stock at home...lol...

Note: Don't wash the rice!!! It should be DRY !!!

7. Add some more broth (water) little by little any time your risotto is becoming dry. 

Note: If you pour the water little by little you will extract more starch from the rice and the risotto will become creamier.

8. Dilute the cuttlefish ink in 50 ml of water and mix well to dissolve it.
9. After about 15 minutes add the ink to the rice, mix well and cook for 5 minutes more.  

 
Note: The texture of risotto should be creamy with some sauce.     
  

Yeah, you may grant yourself with a glass of chilled white wine with such a dish!!!