Strawberry and Champagne Risotto...

A special combination to try at least once in a lifetime....

Ingredients x4 people

• Carnaroli rice 340g
• Strawberries 125g
• Vegetable stock 1L
• Champagne or white wine 70mL
• White onion 1
• Hard Grana/Parmigiano cheese 100g
• Butter 40g
• Olive oil 10mL
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Bring 1L of vegetable stock to the boil and in the meantime, wash and mirepoix the strawberries (small cubes).

Peel and chop 1 onion and cook it over a medium heat in a saucepan with a handle, together with 10mL of evo oil and half the butter; leave it to brown, turning it with a wooden spoon.

Now add 340g of rice and toast it for a couple of minutes, taking care to turn it continuously. 

Now we can add half a glass of Champagne (white wine as an alternative), which must fade completely and thus lose the alcoholic part.

Once the wine has evaporated, we cook the rice for 17-19 minutes adding the boiling stock, one ladle at a time throughout the cooking time and turning it with a wooden spoon so that it does not stick to the saucepan.

At the end of the cooking time, add the strawberries, a little butter and the cheese, stir-fry for a few minutes and serve. 

Tips:

We keep a few apple slices to caramelise in a pan with two tablespoons of brown sugar to garnish the dish.

Amaretto Panna Cotta

A variation of panna cotta that combines the fragrance of orange with the intense flavour of Amaretto.

Ingredients for 8 servings

• Fresh cream 500g
• Sugar 110g
• Gelatine 10g
• Amaretto 30ml (liqueur)

For the icing

• Oranges to be squeezed 250ml
• Sugar 50g
• Amaretto 30ml

Procedure:

In a saucepan pour 30 ml of Amaretto liqueur and turn on the heat on medium-low flame for a few minutes just to fade the alcohol, now in the same pot pour 500ml of fresh cream and bring it to a boil, in a pebble of cold water about 250ml put a sheet of gelatin for cakes to soak a few minutes (about 5) squeeze it and add it to the cream, mix energetically with a whisk or if we have a mini pimmer whisk 30 seconds.

Now we have our Amaretto panna cotta, let it cool for a few minutes and then pour it into the serving cups/flutes/glasses, place it in the fridge and let it rest for at least 4/5 hours.

Now we can dedicate ourselves to the accompanying icing.

Pour 30ml of Amaretto into a saucepan, turn on the heat, let the alcohol evaporate and add 250ml of orange juice, better if fresh, and 50g of sugar, let it thicken over a low heat, stirring continuously. You can add various spices according to your taste (cinnamon, cloves, orange or lemon zest, etc.).

Turn off the heat when it reaches the desired density, let it cool and pour over your panna cotta.