Risotto with artichokes cream and bottarga

• 1 hour to prepare • 35 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

 

Bottarga again

I went to Liguria during Summer this year, and apart from family and sea life, of course food was a huge part of it.
We went out one night to a Kosher restaurant whose specialty was fried vegetables, and my main course was egg pasta with artichoke hearts and bottarga: it was amazing!
Inspired by this, I thought i'd make risotto with bottarga and artichoke hearts.

The artichoke hearts were lovingly bought by my mum when they were in season, then frozen in batches to make awesome pasta and risotto.
Bottarga is cured mullet or tuna roe, I got tuna (which my Sicilian uncle gifted us with). It's pretty amazing, fishy yet delicious, and a little goes a long way. Ideally really thinly sliced or grated - mine was on the soft side so I froze it a little bit before grating.


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

320 g Carnaroli rice 
1 shallot
2 lemons
1 l vegetable broth
4 artichokes
100 ml dry white wine

EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Before you start, fill a large bowl with cold water. Squeeze the lemons into it and drop the lemon halves into the water
2. Clean the artichokes: pull the outermost leaves until you get down to the lighter yellow leaves. Then, using a serrated knife, cut off the top third or so of the artichoke.
3. With the same serrated knife, trim the very bottom of the stem, then trim its tough outer portion by cutting away the fibrous green exterior to reveal the light, tender center. Finally, cut the artichoke into thin slices, so that it takes few minutes to cook them. Add them to the water and lemon and let them soak for 1 hour
4. Add the artichokes - sliced - to the vegetable broth, and let it boil for 20 minutes
5. Then, braise the shallot with 2 tablespoons of EVO oil; pour the rice into the pan and let it toast for 1 minute
6. Simmer it with white wine until it evaporates
7. 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)
8. When half of rice's cooking time has passed, remove the artichokes from the broth and go on with the cooking
9. Blend most of the artichokes with some salt and pepper, and keep aside
10. Once the rice is ready, take off the heat and add the cream of artichokes. Mix well, then serve immediately with some grated bottarga on top!

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