We officially made it to the fall 🌰 and the Holiday season ✨ and as it is customary, we are sharing one of our risottos!
This one will make many people happy as it checks many boxes: gluten free, vegetarian and possibly vegan too, alcohol free so the kids and people on meds can enjoy it too 😋It can also be easily tweaked to fit your personal taste and the ingredients you have access to wherever you are based! So, feel free to modify accordingly if none of our suggestions work out for you.
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| in November the artichoke season starts in Piedmont: our risotto |
We usually make it to kick up our special occasions and this year we are serving it for our Thanksgiving Day dinner here in Turin, just during the week-end as everyone abroad does 😅
Let us also remind you that in Italy, risotto is a cooking method and the basic recipe (here) is the base for most risottos.
As Piedmont is the top European rice producer, up here, we are very fond of our risottos made with our regional rice variants, wines and products.
On a final note, the real Italian risotto is creamy and not soupy! This is even more important than AL DENTE even though as all our guests in Turin learn, Italian cook al dente to allow the pancreas and the liver to put in some extra work during the digestion so the sugars of the carbs are burned and ultimately, this is why Italy doesn't have as many cases of diabetes as in many other countries...
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| Any whiskey or bourbon you have at home or like will do |
Whiskey Risotto
Amounts for 4 Italian portions in a big menu, or 2 portions if this is all you'll eat plus dessert:
- rice: 300gr or 1.5 C any rice variety will work, in Italy we use our locally grown short grain
- evoo: 4 tablespoons
- whiskey of your choice: 1dl or 0.5 C
- vegetable stock: 1L or 4 C
- bay leaves: 2
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP / vegan option or diced whiskey cheddar cheese: 80gr or 2/3 C minimum
- pepper
Optional = pick and choose, omit, substitute or mix
chopped fresh ginger 2 tsp or 1 shallot
- to add fibers and nutrients: 300gr / 2.5C diced pumpkin or 340gr / 2C thinly sliced artichokes or 300gr or 2 C of sautéed Jerusalem artichokes, or a mix
- to garnish: 10 slices of crispy bacon bites or 100gr / 0.22LB prosciutto crispy bits
- for extra creaminess: 85ml or 1/3C heavy whipping cream or vegan substitute or 60gr / 4 T soft goat cheese - NO mascarpone cheese 😉
Don't forget your wooden spoon!
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| Photo courtesy of Butta La Pasta |
Preparation:
1. If you are planning to garnish your risotto with bacon bites, this is your first step and you can prepare it the day before, if you are opting for crispy prosciutto bits, you can prepare them while the risotto is cooking.
Arrange the prosciutto slices or the bacon cut into 3-4 pieces on a parchment-lined baking dish:
-> 400F /200C for 20min for bacon
-> 370F / 188C for about 12min for the prosciutto - keep an eye on it after 9 min because it burns easily, cool on a rack and crumble to garnish
both meats need to cook till crispy
2. If you are including the vegetables in your risotto, clean and dice the pumpkin, slice the artichokes allowing them to soak in cold water with lemon juice to clean them without having them turn black; clean and dice your Jerusalem artichokes and sprinkle them with some lemon juice so they won't turn black.
3. Warm up your vegetable stock or prepare one using a bouillon cube.
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| Irish whiskey Cheddar cheese, photo courtesy of The Cheesemaker |
4. if using the shallot or the ginger, chop the fresh ginger or the shallot and sautée it in your deep pot with the evoo and the 2 bay leaves for 2-3 minutes. Add in the rice and stir it with your wooden spoon till the rice grains turn translucent.
If omitting the chopped shallot / ginger, directly sauté the rice with butter and bay leaves.
5. Add half of the whiskey and keep stirring till all the whiskey is absorbed by the rice.
6. This is when you add the turmeric and the vegetables if any, otherwise, go to the next step.
If you are planning to add the saffron, you'll do it at the end.
7. Add just enough stock to cover the rice and lower the heat to simmer.
8. Set your timer for 13 minutes, yet watch your risotto as the stock will get absorbed multiple times.
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| risotto with pumpkin and bacon bites |
9. As soon as the stock gets absorbed, add some more and repeat. Stir your risotto everytime you add the stock -risotto isn't a high maintenance dish, so it doesn't require constant stirring.
10. After 13minutes, taste it and see if you like its texture: if you feel it needs 5 more minutes, add some stock and keep cooking it.
When it is ALMOST ready, remove the bay leaves and add the remaining half of the whiskey and keep stirring.
11. When the whiskey is also absorbed, remove from the heat, add some pepper - If you are using saffron, stir it in now, otherwise go to the next step.
At this stage the risotto is already creamy and if you aren't planning on adding any cheese or making it extra creamy, you can serve it and go to step 13 for the bacon or prosciutto garnish.
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| risotto with Jerusalem artichokes and soft goat cheese |
12. In Italy, we like to stir in the grated parm to add some sapidity and some heavy cream or soft goat cheese to make it extra creamy. However, if you have access to whiskey cheddar cheese, that will actually complement your risotto perfectly.
If adding cheese or heavy cream, let rest 5 min before serving.
13. Finally: garnish each portion with some crispy bacon bites or prosciutto crispy bits for added flavor, crispness and dimension!
Pairings:
you can naturally sip the same whiskey you used for this risotto or keep our Piedmont terroir with our:
white wines: Timorasso DOC or Arneis DOCG
red wines: Barbera d'Asti or look for a young Barolo
If you don't have access to any of them, go for any Italian wine of your choice, a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon or any other wine you love!
Remember: the food you make and the wines you'll serve are like the clothes you wear, they need to feel good to you all 😇
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| risotto is very versatile |
Have a delicious Thanksgiving Day if you are celebrating it and a great start of the Holiday season. May this and all our other risottos be part of your special occasions 🎉
📧Email Lucia: turinepi@gmail.com
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