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This easy, elegant recipe is sure to be a winner
Risotto with California Dried Plums and Radicchio
When having friends over, we suggest stirring things up with a creamy risotto with arugula, radicchio and just the right touch of fruity sweetness from dried plums. Recipe courtesy of California Dried Plum Board.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1½ Cup Arborio rice
- 1 Teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ Cup white wine
- 6 Cups hot low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Cup coarsely chopped arugula
- 1 Cup coarsely chopped radicchio
- 1 Cup (about 6 ounces) quartered California pitted dried plums
- ½ Cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 Teaspoon grated Meyer lemon zest
- Salt and freshly ground balck pepper
- Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
12 Easy Risotto Recipes
Risotto is a fine dining staple that, for too long, has been confined to restaurants. The creamy, comforting dish is often thought to be inaccessibly difficult for home cooks. But the truth is that, with the right technique, risotto is easy enough for any cook to make on a weeknight. It comes together with shockingly little effort in a pan, and a pressure cooker makes it even easier.
Once you've realized just how simple it is to make amazing risotto, you're going to want to put it into your standard rotation. You'll never get bored, either, because risotto is a perfect canvas for all sorts of flavors. You'll find we have plenty of variations to keep you satisfied, from saffron-scented risotto alla milanese to vegan miso risotto and a make-ahead baked risotto casserole.
And if you've got leftovers, there are few dishes as satisfying as risotto al salto—that is, a crispy fried risotto pancake.
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Risotto with Barolo, Radicchio and Fontina
Barolo is a red wine produced in Piedmont, a region in northern Italy. Made with 100% Nebbiolo grapes, Barolo is considered to be one of Italy’s greatest wines. It often has an intense ruby red color with aromas of dried flowers, ripe red fruits and spices. Its long finish and good structure make it a perfect wine to enhance classic Italian dishes, like risotto.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet, add the onions and cook over medium-low heat until translucent, but not brown. Add the radicchio cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in the rice and toast for 1 minute. Add 1 cup wine and simmer until the rice has absorbed the wine then add a ladle of vegetable broth. Continue to add a ladle of vegetable stock, one at a time, while stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Always let the rice absorb the liquid before adding more. You may or may not use all of the stock.
Around 18-20 minutes of cooking, the rice should be “al dente” or “firm when bitten”. At this point, stir in the remaining ½ cup of Barolo wine, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, butter and fontina cubes.
Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and top with the fontina cheese heart (optional) and parsley. Buon appetito!
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In a medium Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, toast the rice over medium-low heat in 2 teaspoons of the butter
In a separate, nonreactive saucepan or Dutch oven, gently heat the Amarone wine and, as soon as it reaches a bare simmer, add it to the rice.
Continue cooking the rice, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the wine is absorbed, about 16 to 18 minutes. Add a bit of vegetable broth, as needed, toward the end of cooking.
When the rice is cooked to al dente consistency and the liquid has reduced to a creamy sauce, remove the risotto from the heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the grated Monte Veronese cheese. Stir until well combined, season to taste with salt, and serve immediately.
Serve the finished risotto sprinkled with grated or thinly shaved aged Monte Veronese cheese (another Veronese specialty), Grana Padano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano. It makes sense, of course, to serve this risotto paired with a glass of Amarone della Valpolicella wine.
Recipe Variations
Optional toppings for serving include: grilled red radicchio, toasted chopped walnuts, and/or crisp-fried bits of pancetta, prosciutto, or bacon.
What Is Radicchio?
We all grew up hearing that parental mantra &ldquoRemember to eat your greens!&rdquo And don't get me wrong, we stand by parents everywhere and think greens are not only important but also extremely delicious. But what if we told you it was also important to eat your purples?
Purple and blue produce like red cabbage and blueberries are filled with anthocyanins, which give those foods their vibrant color, and research shows that foods rich in anthocyanins can have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, and anti-diabetic effects, as well as promoting brain health and helping to prevent heart disease.
One of our favorite ways to eat purple while eating healthy: radicchio! It's a staple veg in the Delish kitchen (especially in the winter), and we think more folks should be eating it. This leafy, gorgeous plant originated in northern Italy in the early 16th century and has been an important element of Italian cuisine ever since (hence its nickname Italian Chicory). Read on to learn all about this hearty, healthy and tasty vegetable.
What does radicchio taste like?
Radicchio is a member of the chicory family, a group of cabbage-like, leafy vegetables that are known for their spicy bitterness. Radicchio is no different. When eaten raw, its white veined, purple leaves have a delightfully sharp and bitter flavor. It's also pretty common to see radicchio cooked, either by boiling, sautéing, roasting, or grilling. The cooking brings out some natural sweetness while still providing that iconic bitter kick.
Radicchio gains its red pigment through a growing process called blanching wherein plants that are 2-3 weeks out from harvest must be totally shaded from the sun by a pot, a built structure, or the plant&rsquos leaves itself. This helps the radicchio plants to lose their chlorophyll and highlight the red pigment provided by the anthocyanin.
How do I shop for radicchio?
You should be looking for firm, even, hard heads with an intense reddish, purple color. The leaves should be intact and undamaged, and if there are darker parts, that usually means that the head has been on the shelf for longer.
How do I store radicchio?
Radicchio will keep beautifully in the fridge for at least a week, maybe a bit longer.
How do I prep radicchio?
First you&rsquore going to want to peel and discard the first couple of outer leaves. If you&rsquore using it for a salad you can simply keep peel leavings and chop or slice to your desired size. If you want larger pieces for grilling or roasting, cut the radicchio in half and cut out the white stem at the base of the head.
How do I cook radicchio?
One of our favorite ways to eat radicchio is raw, usually in salads. Since its bitterness can be pretty intense we love to pair it with acidic ingredients like fresh citrus juice and fruit or a vinaigrette. You can also curb the bitterness with briney things, like olives or capers, or fattier ingredients like olive oil or bacon.
We also love to cook with radicchio! Grilling and roasting big halves of radicchio is easy, and makes for a meaty, delicious vegetable dish. Simply rub the radicchio with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast or grill at about 400° for 20 minutes. Drizzle with a bit of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or honey and you&rsquore good to go.
You can also sauté it with caramelized onions or place it on top of turkey burgers. Whatever way you cook radicchio, it's a delicious, healthy way to spice up your crisper drawer.
Radicchio, Pancetta & Red Wine Risotto
I don’t usually buy flavoured rice, or indeed many flavoured anythings. I generally prefer to do my own flavouring. However, when I saw a pack of risotto rice flavoured with dried radicchio in the wonderful Corto Italian Deli, it seemed too tempting to resist.
I just love radicchio and it’s proved impossible to buy in recent years. I once bought it regularly in Waitrose but they haven’t stocked it for years and nor have any other supermarkets I’ve been to. It’s strange. It’s frequently an ingredient in bags of mixed salad but I never see the actual thing – a head of fresh radicchio – anywhere. I discussed this with Romina in Corto – she showed me the radicchio she had, ready to put in salads, but said she got it from a supplier and agreed it was hard to buy. She told me she preferred radicchio di Treviso, which is longer than the round radicchio di Chioggia that’s most commonly found in UK. I’ve seen radicchio di Treviso in Italy, with its long leaves and fairly wide white stems, but never in UK. Here it is from a trip to Rome a few years ago – labelled Tardivo but the same as Radicchio di Treviso.
Romina assured me that the radicchio flavoured risotto rice was very good and because I know she stocks the very best Italian ingredients I decided to buy a pack. Obviously I was going to make risotto but had some pancetta in my fridge and thought that would be a nice addition. Radicchio and pancetta or bacon are quite a popular combination and I’d seen risotto recipes combining radicchio and red wine. So, that all sounded good and supper was sorted!
Radicchio, Pancetta & Red Wine Risotto (serves 1)
- ½ cup radicchio risotto rice
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 77g diced pancetta (or streaky bacon)
- about 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 50ml red wine
- about 1½ cups hot stock or water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 10g butter
- some freshly ground Parmesan
Measure the rice into a cup.
Put the shallot and pancetta in a pan with the olive oil. Cook over a medium heat until the pancetta is lightly coloured all over and the shallot softening.
Add the rice and cook, stirring all the time, for a couple of minutes so each grain of rice is covered in oil. Now pour in the red wine and season with freshly ground black pepper. You can add a little salt but may not need it as the pancetta will be quite salty and if your stock is also salted, then it’s probably best to leave adding extra salt until the end.
Stir well and let it bubble gently, stirring most of the time, until the red wine is absorbed. Now start adding the hot stock or water, little by little and continuing to stir. Stirring is what breaks up the starches in the rice and gives the risotto its creamy texture. It may sound hard work but for me it’s the wonder of making risotto, so relaxing and a time to really put love into your food.
Keep adding the stock until the rice is almost cooked – it should have that al dente bite to it: cooked but still with a little resistance when bitten. You want the liquid to be absorbed but the overall risotto still nicely wet and not dry. This is risotto – not pilau! Turn off the heat and check seasoning. Now add the butter and a little grated Parmesan. Stir and put the lid back on and leave for a minute or two. Then it’s ready to serve.
I served mine with simple salad of rocket and finely sliced fennel.
The risotto looked very inviting. I grated some extra Parmesan on top and drizzled over a little olive oil.
It felt like a very wintry risotto with its deep red colour and deep warming flavours. Just perfect for a cold February evening! It was a wonderful combination of flavours: bitter radicchio, salty pancetta and a sweetness from the creamy risotto, butter and Parmesan.
The radicchio flavoured risotto rice was brilliant and I’ll definitely buy more. It’s very pure – just Carnaroli rice, dried radicchio and a little dried parsley and onion. No extras. If you’re not lucky enough to have a wonderful Italian deli near you like Corto, but you can actually find fresh radicchio, then do try making this risotto with that!
Recipe Summary
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 (32 ounce) carton beef stock
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup white wine, divided
- ¼ cup butter, divided
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 ¾ cups Arborio rice
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak until soft, about 1 hour. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Squeeze mushrooms to remove excess water and roughly chop.
Bring beef stock to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low and cover to keep warm.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms cook and stir until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Discard garlic cloves pour in 1/2 cup wine. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until wine reduces, 3 to 5 minutes.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil with 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir shallot until soft, about 3 minutes. Cook and stir Arborio rice until toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Pour in remaining 1/2 cup wine. Simmer until wine is absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Ladle 1/3 of the warm stock into the saucepan cook and stir until absorbed. Ladle in remaining stock and reserved soaking liquid in small amounts and cook, stirring constantly, until risotto is tender and creamy, 15 to 18 minutes.
Remove risotto from the heat stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and Parmesan cheese. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.