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ITALIAN RECIPES

Creamy Risotti

White Truffle Risotto
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (500 g) short grained rice, for example Carnaroli or Arborio
1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon very finely minced onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano
1 quart (1 liter) simmering beef broth
6 ounces (150 g) fresh white truffles, brushed clean

Preparation:
Sauté the onion in half the butter until it begins to turn golden, then add the wine and cook over a low heat, until the onion is falling apart and the wine has evaporated. Add the rice, mix well, and then begin adding broth, a ladle at a time, stirring gently all the while.

When the rice has almost reached the al dente stage, remove the pot from the fire and stir in the remaining butter and the cheese, then slice half the truffles into it using a truffle slicer.

Heat the risotto through, transfer it to a serving bowl, and slice the remaining truffles over it.

Creamy Risotto with Fontina
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (300 g) short-grained rice, along the lines of Arborio
1/2 an onion
simmering beef broth
1/2 cup dry white wine, warmed
1/4 pound (100 g) fontina, finely sliced or diced
1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Mince the onion and heat it with the butter until it becomes translucent. Remove it with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan, and sauté the rice for about 5 minutes, stirring all the while.
Return the minced onion to the pot, stir well, and add the warmed wine (if it's cold you'll shock the grains).

Begin adding broth, a ladle at a time, stirring gently. When the rice is almost at the al dente stage stir in the cheese, and cook a minute or two more.
Dot the surface with a few shavings of butter. Cover and let sit for a couple of minutes, and serve.

Champagne Risotto
Ingredients:
2 1/2 (500 g) cups short grained rice, along the lines of Arborio
A half bottle of champagne or other dry sparkling wine, for example Franciacorta or Prosecco
1 quart simmering beef broth
1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter
1/2 a small onion, finely minced and then squeezed in a napkin or towel to extract the juices, which you will want to discard
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
salt & pepper
4 ounces (100 g) black truffles, finely sliced (quite optional)

Preparation:
Melt half the butter and slowly sauté the onion until it turns golden. Wet it down with a half cup of the wine and cook over a brisk flame until it has evaporated.
Then add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the grains turn translucent (3-5 minutes), and begin adding the broth, a ladle at a time.

When the rice is half-cooked, stir in the remaining wine. Continue cooking the risotto, stirring, until the rice is just shy of the al dente stage, at which point stir in the remaining butter and the cheese.
Cook a couple minutes more, turn the risotto out into a tureen, sprinkle the truffles over it, if you are using them, and serve.

Risotto alla Milanese
Ingredients:
3 cups (600g) short grained rice, e.g. Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano
1 1/2 quarts (1.5 l) good meat broth, boiling hot
2/3 cup (120 g) unsalted butter
2 1/4 ounces (70 g) beef marrow (get this from your butcher, or an oriental market), minced
a small onion, finely sliced
1 cup (250 ml) dry white or tannic red (not oaky) wine, warmed (if possible)
a packet of saffron pistles (about 0.1 g -- powdered will do, but pistles are better)
2 1/3 cups (120 g) grated Parmigiano (half this if you are using the risotto as a bed for ossibuchi)
6 sheets real gold leaf (quite optional, as garnish for a truly extravagant meal)

Preparation:
Place the saffron pistils in a bowl to steep with some of the meat broth.
In a casserole, simmer the finely sliced onion and the beef marrow in half the butter over an extremely low flame for about 10 minutes; the onion should become translucent but not brown.

Remove the onion and marrow with a slotted spoon and set them aside.
Sauté the rice over a moderate flame for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly lest it stick and burn. About a minute before the rice is done, return the onion mixture to the pot. Stir in the warmed wine, and cook, stirring, until it has completely evaporated.

Then stir in a first ladle of the hot broth, and once most has been absorbed, another, stirring and adding liquid until the rice is almost at the al dente stage.
Stir in the saffron pistils, the remainder of the butter, half the cheese, turn off the flame, and let the risotto sit covered for a minute. Then serve it, either as a bed for ossibuchi alla milanese or as a first course, with the remainder of the cheese on the side.

If you are serving the risotto with the gold leaf, divvy it into individual portions in the kitchen and carefully lay a sheet of gold over each.
Note: When you add the wine, it is very important that it be warm, because the addition of cold liquid will make the rice flake.

Fondue Risotto
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (300 g) rice
8 ounces (200 g) fontina, a mild cheese that melts well
2/3 cup (150 ml) milk
1 quart beef broth
half an onion
a small black truffle
1/2 cup dry white wine
unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Thinly slice the cheese and set it to soak in the milk for several hours.
Bring the broth to a boil. Slice the onion into wedges and sauté it in a walnut-sized chunk of butter over a medium flame until it becomes translucent.

Warm the wine, and in the meantime stir the rice into the onion and sauté it too for a couple of minutes, stirring briskly lest it stick and burn. Splash the wine into the pot and continue to cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Begin adding broth a ladle at a time, gently stirring lest it all stick down.

When the rice reaches the al dente stage fish out and discard the pieces of onion. Stir in the cheese and the milk, check seasoning, and cook for about 3 more minutes. Divvy the risotto into dishes and serve, dusting the bowls with thinly sliced truffle.

If you don't have truffles, you can use truffle paste, adding it when you add the cheese. In terms of a wine, I'd go with something sparkling, say a Franciacorta.

Lemon Risotto with Pomegranate Seeds
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups (200 g) short-grained rice, for example Arborio or Vialone Nano
a small leek
1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
a lemon, preferably organically grown
a pomegranate
an abundant quart of simmering chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup (125 ml) dry white wine, warmed
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Seed the pomegranate and squeeze half the seeds in a potato ricer to extract their juice. Combine it with the juice of a half a lemon. Trim the zest from the lemon, cut it into thin strips, and blanch them.
Pat them dry and set them aside.

Clean the leek, mince it, and sauté it until it wilts in the butter, then scoop it from the pan and set it aside. Sauté the rice in the drippings until the grains become translucent, about five minutes, then return the sautéed leek to the pan and sauté a minute more. Stir in the warmed wine and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Next, begin to add the broth, a ladle at a time, stirring gently and adding more as it is absorbed.

Shortly before the rice is done, add the fruit juices and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divvy the risotto up into individual portions and decorate them with the reserved pomegranate seeds and strips of zest.

Buon appetito!

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