I prepared the strawberry risotto a few days ago for dinner. Strawberries and wine… mmmhhh… it sounds like a weird combination… But you know what? It’s astonishingly delicious!!! The taste is so delicate and really elegant. I heard of it for the very first time two years ago from my friend Layla who lived here in Toronto. She went back to Italy where she is going to get married with Giulio at the end of the year. I miss her so much… Therefore, I’d like to dedicate this risotto to her hoping we will have strawberry risotto all together very soon.
Try it and let me know if you like it!
PS: My friend Mario who is a sommelier suggests to drink a Champagne Rosé demi-sec or the Peller Ice Cuvée Rosé during the dinner. I decided to have a beer I had never tried before, the Unibroue Maudite. Unibroue is a brewery located in Champly, in the beautiful province of Québec. I made some research and the Maudite is a double fermented red ale (malt, orange, wild spices with fragrances of coriander and cloves and floral hop note).
Strawberry risotto
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
120 gr rice
2 cups chicken or vegetables broth (or 2 cups of water + 1 stock)
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 glass of white wine
12 strawberries
1 tbsp evo oil
salt (optional)
white pepper
butter
grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Cut the strawberries in large pieces and place them into a bowl. Cover with wine.
Prepare 2 cups of water with the stock in a pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer. Keep the heat very low.
Cut the strawberries into small pieces. Keep 2 strawberries aside. You will need them for the final decoration.
Mash some of them, cut into very small pieces the remainder.
In a large skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add the rice. Sauté for 1 minute.
Meanwhile put the strawberries aside and add the wine to the rice. Sauté for other 3-5 minutes until the rice has absorbed almost all the wine.
Add the broth and cook until it is almost completely absorbed, stirring frequently, then add another cup of simmering broth. Repeat stirring constantly. The whole process should take about 20/25 minutes. Halfway in the cooking process, add the mashed strawberries and the white pepper. Continue stirring until cooked and the broth if needed.
Rice should be slightly firm in center and look very creamy. Remove from the heat. Add the Parmesan cheese and a little bit of butter. Serve garnished with the 2 strawberries cut into 4 pieces.
I’d never heard of it but I’m willing to give it a try! I’ll let you know…