Risotto with red chicory and smoked scamorza cheese

• 10 minutes to prepare • 35 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

 

Simmer me.

Risotto takes a while to be cooked properly, and it requires your attention as well as a little bit of practice. For about 20 minutes, you have one job and one job only, and that is to stir the rice while adding a ladle of broth at a time over low heat.

This technique - the risotto method - releases the rice's starches, producing a creamy, velvety dish, and it requires two hands. One to stir and one to ladle.
So it's best not to try to multitask while you're doing it. You may carry on a conversation with your husband (pretending to be listening ha ha), but don't try to do any other kitchen work — especially if it is the first time you are making risotto.

What's intriguing about the risotto method is that it's so time-consuming that restaurants can't adopt it. It would take too long, and customers don't like waiting half an hour for their food. In other words, if you have tried risotto at a restaurant, you did not try a true risotto.
So...smile! As you're making it at home, you'll enjoy risotto made the Italian (aka right) way.

This basic risotto recipe is made with red chicory and smoked scamorza cheese (an all-time Italian classic combination, similar to this amazing recipe), Parmesan cheese and toasted almonds.
It's a perfect recipe to start with if you've never made risotto before.

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

 

320 g Carnaroli rice 
1 shallot
200 g red chicory
1 l vegetable broth
50 g grated Parmesan cheese
200 g smoked scamorza cheese
1 glass white wine
30 g chopped almonds
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Rinse red chicory under cold water and cut it into strips
2. Braise chopped shallot with 2 tablespoons of EVO oil and salt
3. Add the red chicory, salt and freshly ground pepper (be generous with it) and cook for 15 minutes. If necessary, add a spoonful of boiling vegetable broth
4. Pour the rice into the pan and let it toast for 1 minute. Simmer it with the white wine until it evaporates
5. Cook the rice, adding a spoonful of boiling vegetable broth at a time, as for a normal risotto, (please refer to the cooking time indicated on the rice package)
6. Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a pan with no seasoning and cut the smoked scamorza cheese into cubes
7. A few moments before the rice is done, stir in the Parmesan cheese and the smoked scamorza cheese 
8. Serve hot with toasted almonds on top

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.

I am a risotto kind of person.
Wine brings out my flavor.