Risotto with Apple and Black Pudding

I have only two regret for this dish we just finished to eat. One, it is finished. Two, I did it after Christmas. Why the latter? This is a great dish perfectly suited for the Christmas celebrations!

Honestly, I made this out of instinct and despite my hate for cooked apples. The result is simply stunning. A delicate savory dish, where the few ingredients combine perfectly. Mmmmmm .....

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with mushrooms and salmon

Cold is coming. Here in Belgium we have a 3C maximum today ... and yesterday was less cold but more humid. Result, I am suffering like crazy. Today I even woke up with my hands kind of frozen! Luckily the little one suffer less.

So, what better dish in a cold winter than a stofvlees (see here) and a risotto. And given that mushrooms are still around and that salmon is somewhat a Christmas ingredient. here I present you a nice warm risotto that would be perfect as a starter for the coming eating events!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Squid, chorizo and risotto nero

This time it is all about experimenting. Few years ago I saw in the finals of Masterchef on the BBC that one contestant was working, as a test, in the kitchen of Hélène Darroze. Her signature dish was a risotto with squid and chorizo. I have been thinking of doing such a dish since.

Now, after a few years, I have found the recipe ... and I got horrified. She uses cream in the risotto and foams and goose fat. This alone made me feel like reject for her signature dish. But the combination chorizo-squid did not want to leave my head. What could I do? Well, I simply created a completely new dish.

My basic idea is that the risotto should be light and dominated by the taste of the squid ink. The chorizo and squid should dance with their flavors in a sauce. Fresh tomato and lemon juice should be there to freshen everything. Not Parmesan but pecorino is the cheese for squid. Finally, not a foam but a parsley pesto is needed to give even more freshness. And the result is ... well read the recipe !!!

As a final note, the new header is actually this dish!!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with fresh salami

Now as I mentioned in my previous post while introducing ATOM, I am back experimenting and exploring. Experimenting new combinations and flavors, and exploring more and more local ingredients.

The risotto you see in the photo is the first of the few results from my last exploration, not experimentation. We have recently discovered that Belgium has many farms where it is possible to buy cheese, milk, meat and cured meat like ham .... and salami. A couple of weeks ago it happened that we visited this farm, which makes really nice cheeses. And in doing so ... we ended-up to visit a farm of one of their relatives producing fresh meat and cured meat.

Excited I took, among other things, a salami or dried (cured) sausage ... just to find out at home that it was still too fresh. What to do? Fresh salami is no ready to be eaten .... so, I made a risotto out of it. Added some good quality saffron and a piquant cheese (called pikantje) from the other farm. This dish won't win as refined food, but the taste was simply bursting with flavor and creaminess. Will be eaten again .... in two week we are back at the farms and I will buy lots of cured sausages (hoping they are still fresh) !!!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Tomatoes filled with rice

Life is busy .... Matteo Matteo Matteo ... then his mother, then work. Between lack of sleep, diet (which follows after delivery and bestows on the father too), work stress, lack of holidays (even if for not too long finally) ... I am exhausted. Still, Matteo is the best person I have ever met and a wonderfully joyful boy as his posts on his blog demonstrate (or at least his photos).

Still I miss cooking. I have not given up but I need to find my rhythm again. I need to cook things less banal than pasta with tomato juice or roasted fish. But so far no time ....

you must be thinking ... who did this gorgeously looking dish ... well Elke. I only enjoyed eating it and taking a photo of it. It is simple but perfectly suited to this time of the year. Now back to Matteo .... crying for being hugged by papa a bit :-)

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with black salsify and gorgonzola cheese

It was bound to happen ... today is y last empty workless day as tomorrow I (and I need to add here finally) start my new job! Quite a change as I have left a company where I was for about 8 years in order to do something which merges my experience and my latest done MBA with my enthusiasm for innovation. Sure I am thrilled ... but also sort of worried. I guess it is normal. But this is only change number one (new house, new town, first baby on the way ;-))

Anyway, here is yet a winter dish! Yes winter as here in Belgium is still bloody winter (but getting better). If you do not fancy salsify try to replace it with some asparagus, potatoes and/or artichokes ... since this is their taste. Sure is if you use salsify you get the right balance (and less things to buy).This dish can also be made vegetarian very easily by using a vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock. Just use a very neutral one.

Ciao and I wish everybody a nice week ... if not as exciting as mine (and yes I start on April's fool!).

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with Gray Shrimps, Curry and Dalmore

Today is a very special day. No no no, it as nothing to do with the fact that finally I could post this recipe (which believe me tastes amazingly good despite looking and being simple) ... but we have seen for the third time our (first) baby. Almost 22 weeks of pregnancy, 400g, 17cm (I think) ... but already such beautiful little feet and hands and head. It is like a miracle. All is there in perfect shape, so we are amazed and relieved. Looking forward to have a little demon dictating what to eat!!

Now back to the risotto. I did come up with this recipe like an engineer, as once Adina described me. A taste engineer ... shrimps go well with curry, curry goes well with tangy flavor, tangy goes well with alcohol, shrimps with vermouth and malt, alcohol with sweet ... I love risotto ... well, let's make a risotto with curry, Dalmore and gray shrimps.

In this dish you need to use the given ingredients and be generous with pepper along a mild curry mix. Why? Dalmore has this sweet tangy taste which fits perfectly with the dish as a background taste, the pepper with a mild curry simply blows the taste buds aways, and the gray shrimps have the aroma to sustain all this. Sure it does not look like a traditional risotto ... and it is not. But surely I will serve it when I have special guests, as it is faboulous!

Now ... back to the echo prints of the baby :-)

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Violet risotto with pears and Herve cheese

Where is Internet? Damn Damn ..... well, last night I had no connection. And as we get telephone, internet and TV from the same provider, this implies we lost some other services too. Luckily is back ... but now I have to post this recipe this morning before going to work instead of comfortably last night!

Anyway, among all nice recipes I did last days I decided to start from this one. Why? Because inspired by the comments on this post, I wanted to show that I really have only 60 seconds to shot a photo and no time to figure out how to treat food difficult to portrait like this one!!

But what is this? It is a dish coming out from an inspiration of four countries .. no five. The original idea of a risotto with pears come to me since I saw this recipe here, but then I got intrigued by a new approach to risotto (thanks Chef Oldani!!) discussed here ... This approached posed a problem ... how do I put in the pears? Well, this time I decided to make a bastardized version of a nice Dutch dish called stoofperen (kind of boiled pears) but in French Muscadet wine (see here). And finally I put in a nice Belgian cheese (or for me the Belgian version of taleggio cheese) to complete (see here). Not satisifed (here is the fifth country), I opted not for a normal rice but for mixing rice with purple rice and sticky rice.

The result? A risotto with a bite which is both mushy (sticky rice) and crunchy (violet rice), very violet (thanks to the violet rice and cheese), nutty in flavor (purple rice), aromatic (from the cheese) and sweet (from the stoofperen). Overall it felt somewhat not European, something rather delicate and sharp at the same time. Nice. We'll do again.

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Hedgehog risotto in a caciocavallo fondue

Francesco - says Elke excited on the phone - I could not find the porcini but there are the pied-du-Mouton!!! Should I take them???
What the heck are those?? - answer Francesco, who is thinking Pied-du-Mouton sounds like Goat feets - I need mushrooms not meat!!
(and here we went getting annoyed a bit with each other as it happens sometimes due to cultural misunderstanding)

This was the way I heard of these mushrooms for the first time ... we were preparing a dinner for friends and in the end we gave up doing the risotto with porcini and sopressata (here) since I had no clue on this pied-du-Mouton. Wise choice ... given the huge difference in taste. A pity for the guests, given how nice they are.
Anyhow, how did we come up with this recipe .... well, some time I ago I discussed our experience in a restaurant in Italy (here) where we were served a dish with a caciocavallo fondue and how it went well with a Negroamaro wine and some shaved truffle on top ... well, I simply put everything together. But since truffles are not easy to get ... we took this pied-du-Mouton. I put a red wine in the recipe, but something more with more sweetness and pepper flavor .... and we could not be happier!

PS: As for the previous post, this is penciled down for the first starter for the Xmas lunch and will be shared on Waiting for Christmas ... if we find the mushrooms!

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with Porcini and Sopressata

So, we are back ... we had nice time in our short trip to Italy and I will report on a nice restaurant we visit, which marks finally the return of an italian restaurant in my top10 after many delusions. Of course, the recipe I propose here was not done while there but some days before. However, I wanted to share what we consider our best approach to risotto with porcini before the season ends. What makes it so special? The use of coffee as suggested by Lory and the use of a special cured meat called Sopressata (read the recipe and wikipedia for more).

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto with roasted Potimarron

Today I was supposed to be at the University ... still few weeks to go and finally it will be over. But instead I am here home with a huge headache and feeling tired after the emotionally intense week at work. So I post a recipe to forget my headache!
Pumpkin is something I discovered after I left Italy ... I think I have already talked about it in an earlier post. Well, last year I discovered potimarron ... or actually it was this year. I wonder how many have bought a strange looking squash (family name for pumpkin, courgette, etc) looking like a big orange pear and thinking it was a pumpkin. I did .... and I cooked normally. Delicious but super heavy! Hu!
Well, this year I discovered it is actually the potimarron .... since then I realized I needed to chang the way we cook it. The result is spectacular. This squash is thick and packed with taste. Like the name suggests kind of pumpkin (poti) and chestnut (marron). This recipe for risotto is for me simply the best way I have found to prepare it with potimarron where the oven roasting is not optional, but is needed to reduce the pulpiness of the squash while brigngin out its aromatic taste .... add the pecorino di Fossa and a nicely aged Chateauneuf-de-Pape... and here it is, the (erroneously) pumpkin risotto Elke consider the best she ever had!
What a compliment from my sweet wife!!! I hope you will enjoy it as well.

PS: Can be also frozen ... once defrosted it will still be packed with flavor :-)

(Leggi la ricetta --- Read the recipe)

Risotto al Puzzone di Moena con Capicollo

Last sunday I was on the phone with my mum, when she asked me if we had finished the artisanal Puzzone cheese they brought us from a farm in Trentino ... The Puzzone ?! Ops, I forgot about it! And while getting it out of the fridge, we noticed also some left over form a artisanal capicollo we bought in Ravello (wikipedia link) in Campania. So, taste one and the other, this risotto has been created. You might notice I use ricotta instead of butter at the end. It is the magic touch ... it makes the dish lighter allowing the Puzzone to be the dominant taste with a capicollo background and no butter feeling. It is a special, aromatic and delicious risotto. An expression of italian DOP. By the way, in english this dish sounds like "risotto with the stinking cheese from Moena and capocollo".

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as starter
FlexiPoints: 9 or 4.5

Suggested wine: A nice Primitivo di Manduria DOC would do just fine!
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
180g carnaroli rice
70g Capicollo Campano (in one piece)
40g Puzzone di Moena cheese
30g ricotta cheese
1 liter (max) light chicken stock
1 small yellow onion
1/2 white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
Pepper to taste

Ingredient note: There are two magic ingredients here. First the most unknown: the Puzzone di Moena cheese. A DOP product from Trentino. It smells really strongly (kind of 1000 years eggs) and with a piquant taste, but with still soft-ish bite. Lovely, but probably too strong for most. The Capocollo or Capicollo Campano (DOP) is cured pork meat from the neck muscles. Somebody calls it coppa, but to me they are two different things even in the spices used to marinate them. And the capicollo (the original one) is sensibly less fatty! Now, how can we replace them both? Difficult if not impossible. Coppa can go instead of capicollo, and it is easily found outside of Italy. For the Puzzone, maybe a very mature Tomme de Savoie. Or simply get them from Italy somehow.

How-to:
1. Finely chop the onion. Cut the capocollo and the puzzone cheese in small cubes (few millimeters per side).
2. Sauté the onion with the oil until soft or 3’. Then, add the capocollo and keep cooking on high heat for 5’ more or until the capocollo has not lightly browned. Stir frequently.
3. Add the rice and cook it on high heat for 1’ (or until it whitens) stirring continuously. Add the wine and get it reduced.
4. Add about 200ml of stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat (it should be gently simmering). Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked (about 18’). You might be left with some stock depending on the rice and the cooking temperature.
5. Remove from the heat. Season with abundant pepper. Add the two cheeses and stir well. Let rest for few minutes and serve on large dishes.

Tiella riso e cozze

All non-Italians might wonder if I am really doing my best for strange names in recipes. This time something called 'tiella'. Well, I give you the traditional name for a a dish made by making a kind of risotto in the oven. This version is quite traditional and gets sometimes changed by adding things like courgette (my mum does that). Last saturday I made it for the first time in my life and Elke ate it for the first time too ... she has been asking for a second time since!!! It is packed with mussels taste but in a delicate manner. It is filling ... but friendly for dieting! Main problem is opening the mussels.

Serves: 4 as main course
FlexiPoints: 5

Suggested wine: Interestingly enough this dish is versatile. We had it with a Lambrusco di Sorbara, but if you feel less daring a mineral or sparkling white wine would do as well.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
- 500g (cleaned) mussels
- 1 large onion
- 2 large tomatoes (400g)
- 2 large potatoes (400g)
- 200g rice
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 small garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp grated mature Pecorino cheese
- 2 tbsp bread-crumbs
- Salt, pepper and oil to taste

Ingredient note: Just be sure your mussels are alive and you get a nice old Pecorino cheese! what is Pecorino ... mature piquant cheese made from sheep milk (check wikipedia). Very tasty especially from Sardinia.

How-to:
1. Open the shells leaving mussel attached to one half of it and discarding the other half. Be careful in collecting every juice they release in something like a bowl.
2. Chop the garlic and mix it with the parsley. Fine slice the onion, the tomatoes and the potatoes.
3. Take an oven pot (standard quiche size would do) and grease it with little oil. Distribute the onion on the bottom. Season with the parsley and garlic mix. Make a first layer with half of the potatoes and a second one with half of the tomato. Distribute 1 tbsp of cheese on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add a layer with 150g of rice. Lay the mussels on top (inside upwards) and distribute the remaining rice over being sure all mussels are filled with it. Finish with a layer of tomatoes and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour in the mussels juice (previously filtered through a sieve) and add as much water until all ingredients are just covered. Cover with silver foil and bake at 220C for 50’ or until the liquids have been fully absorbed.
6. Remove the foil, distribute the bread-crumbs and the remaining cheese. Finish to bake for 10’ more or until nicely crusted on top. Serve at room temperature.

Risotto J

Since this recipe came out of the blue ... I decided to gave it an original name, which has no meaning. Last saturday we were on the belgian coast and while shopping for fresh fish, I saw some smoked halibut. I asked Elke about its taste (as I never ate it before) ... and the recipe for a risotto came out. I thought that the fattiness of the fish could be balanced by the freshness of some coriander and the acidity of some low-dosage champagne. We had no clue how it would come, but apparently now Elke is already thinking to serve this dish to friends and family ...

Serves: 2 as main course or 4 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 8 or 4

Suggested wine: Low-dosage champagne would go or a young Chablis. In general a white wine with good acidity to balance the fattiness of the halibut.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
180g rice
80g smoked halibut filet
700ml light chicken stock
1 glass of champagne
1 shallot
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
2 tbsp olive oil
Pepper to taste

Ingredient note: Smoked halibut is something quite popular in Belgium. It can be found (along other smoked fishes) in supermarkets but (much better) at the fishmonger. If you cannot find it, you will need a smoked fish which has a dry and fatty bite.

How-to:
1. Finely chop the shallot and coarsely cube the fish.
2. Sauté the shallot in the oil and, once golden, add the rice. Let it sauté for 2’ more. Add the champagne and let it evaporate. Add the fish and stir well.
3. Add about 100ml of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice at medium-low temperature. Once it is mostly absorbed, add some more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked. You might be left with some stock depending on the rice quality.
4. Remove from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Season with pepper. Stir well. Let cool down for 2’ and serve.

Risotto with ricotta and lemon

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

This one is super easy!!! Despite so Elke made it this time. I am way to busy with finishing off things for my study and work before leaving for the honeymoon ... my mind is so off than even the photo I took is barely acceptable! Well ... hopefully will get better soon. This risotto is fantastic. Perfect for a hot summer as marjoram and lemon combine perfectly and the ricotta make everything lighter! Really nice! And I like the verdicchio with it ... Elke not so ...

Serves: 4 or 8 as starter
FlexiPoints: 5 or 2.5
Suggested wine: A Verdicchio di Jesi or a young Chablis.
Special equipment: none.

Ingredients:
250g rice
150g ricotta cheese
1 shallot
1 lemon
3 sprigs of marjoram
1 L vegetable stock (max)
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredient note: none.

How-to:
1. Finely chop the shallot. Sauté it with the oil until soft or 3’. Add the rice and cook it on high heat for 2’ minutes (or until it changes color) stirring continuously.
2. Add about 200ml of stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat (it should be only simmering). Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked (about 18’).
3. Remove from the heat. Crumble the ricotta and add the marjoram leaves. Stir well until creamy. Season with salt, pepper and the grated zest of the lemon. Stir well and serve immediately.

Risotto robiola and asparagus

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

This dish should go pretty well with the wine I just blogged about ... strange coincidence !! Anyway, asparagus are almost at the end here. This year they were not really particularly tasty (either the green or the white ones). Unfortunate, since they are always loved in our house!! We'll see next year! This recipe calls for robiola ... easy to find in Italy, but not so outside. Still, it is an important ingredient here. So, try hard to get it!

Serves: 6 as main course or 12 as starter
FlexiPoints: 4.5 or 2.5

Suggested wine: the dish is quite aromatic and with some acidity. A young Pinot Bianco could go, since rather fresh and low in acidity.

Ingredients:
- 420g rice (vialone nano)
- 800g green asparagus
- 70g robiola cheese
- 1 shallot
- 40g pecorino cheese
- 4g saffron
- 3 sprigs of marjoram
- 1/2 glass of white dry wine
- Salt, pepper and oil as needed

Ingredient note: Robiola (wikipedia link) is difficult to find outside italy, but it gives a special acidity in the flavor which cannot be easily replaced. You can try to replace with with ricotta in this dish. While the taste will be quite different, it will be still very nice!

How-to:
1. Clean the asparagus and remove their heads. Boil the stalks for 30’ with 2 liters of water, half shallot, marjoram and salt. Pass the stock through a sieve. Keep the stock and the asparagus stalks, discard the rest.
2. Chop the stalks. Add the saffron to the warm stock and let it infuse. Halve the asparagus heads. Cube the robiola.
3. Finely chop the remaining shallot. Sauté it with some oil until soft or 3’. Add the rice and cook it on high heat for 2’ minutes (or until it changes color) stirring continuously.
4. Add the wine and let is get absorbed. Add about half a liter of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat (it should be only simmering). Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked (about 16’). You will most likely be left with some stock.
5. Half way (about 8’) add the asparagus stalks and heads, and continue cooking.
6. At the end, remove from the heat and add the cheeses and stir well to get a uniform creamy risotto. Let rest for few minutes and serve.

Risotto with radicchio and fagioli (beans) Calonega

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Well, to be honest we have done this dish long time ago, but I seemed to never end up posting it. The ideas came from one of the many magazines and I now do not recall any longer which ones. You might wander why these beans? Well, they were given to me by my parents to try. They got them during their skiing trip last Christmas (yes long time ago) and found them very tasty. They actually have a nice rich and aromatic taste, which goes extremely well in this dish but could also go in a simple salad.

Serves: 8 as main course
FlexiPoints: 4

Suggested wine: A refreshing Coda di Volpe or mineral Trocken (dry) German Riesling
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
140g dried Calonega Lamon beans
1 red onion
2 red radicchio’s (400g)
320g Carnaroli rice
10g butter
1/2 glass white wine
2 L vegetable stock
30g Parmesan cheese
2 dried leaves of Laurier
6 leaves of fresh sage
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: The Calonega Lamon beans are a particular version typical of the Dolomites of the Borlotti beans which looks dark red when cooked. Use normal Borlotti, if you really cannot find them.

How-to:
1. Leave the dried beans in water overnight. Let them simmer in a closed pot in them in fresh water with the Laurier leaves for 40’ or until fully cooked. Drain the beans and discard the laurier.
2. Slice the radicchio in stripes. Finely chop the onion and sauté it with the butter until soft. Add the radicchio and keep cooking for 1’ more. Add the beans, the sage leaves and the rice. Cook on high heat for 1’ or until the rice has taken color.
3. Add the wine and keep cooking until fully absorbed. Add some stock and reduce the heat to simmer. Let the rice cook until fully cook (about 15’) adding the stock in small batches when the previous one has been absorbed. You might need less stock than indicated.
4. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and let cool down for few minutes. Serve slightly warm.

Rice and vegetables ovenpot

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

Something vegetarian and light. We are back on diet, why? We need to fit in the cloths for the wedding in the church and the last thing Elke wants is not to fit in her (I have no clue what) white dress. So we starve. This is a dish that can be eaten in quantities. Light, low calories and healthy as basically rich of vegetables. It is also a very nice alternative to the usual risotto.

Serves: 4 as main course or 10 as side dish
FlexiPoints: 5 or 2

Suggested wine: we enjoyed quite a bit with a Primitivo Rose’ with it.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
320g (Arborio) rice
1 onion
1 piece of celery
1 carrot
150g peas
150g cherry tomatoes
5g parsley
800ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: none

How-to:
1. Separately, finely chop the onion, cube the celery and the carrot, half the tomatoes. and finely chop the parley.
2. Sauté the onion in the oil for 3’ or until soft. Add the carrot and celery, let sauté for 10’ more. Add the tomatoes and the peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the rice and cook on high heat for 1’ more or until the rice has taken some color. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.
3. Grease an oven pot with some butter. Pour in the rice and the stock so that the rice has a uniform surface. Cook in an hot oven at 180C for about 40’ or until the stock has been completely absorbed.
4. Serve lukewarm or cold.

Risotto with zucca, balsamic & gorgonzola

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)
We got of this recipe while traveling in Emilia last summer. We visitied a nice "aceteria" (where they make the famous Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale) and, while tasting, we discussed how to use this precious liquid in cooking. The recipe is simple and tasty, and can be done also with butternut squash, which is easier to find these days that the pumpkin.

Serves: 4 as a main dish or 8 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 9 or 4.5

Suggested wine: a good Lambrusco which fits perfectly with the balsamic flavor.

Ingredients:
- 300g rice (possibly of carnaroli variety)
- 800 Kg pumpkin (or butternut squash) without seeds
- 100g young creamy gorgonzola cheese
- up to 2 liters beef stock
- 40g Parmesan cheese rind
- 1 shallot
- 3 tbsp oilive oil (possibly light and fruity)
- 8 tbsp Traditional Balsamic Vinegard from Reggio Emilia
- Salt and pepper as needed

How-to:
1. Peel the pumpkin, discard the seeds and chop it in medium-small irregular cubes. Finely chop the shallot. Chop the Parmesan rind in small rectangular shapes.
2. Take a deep pot, best if made from cast iron (like a Creuset). Sauté the sliced shallot in the hot oil and, once soft, add the pumpkin. Keep cooking on a medium heat with the lid on until the pumpkin is soft (5 minutes depending on the pot and the pumpkin). Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the rice. Cook on high heat for 2 more minutes stirring constantly.
4. Add about 400ml of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice on medium-low heat. Once it is mostly absorbed, add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked. You will need to stir occasionally and, towards the end, to mash the pumpkin with the back of a wooden spoon.
5. After about 10 minutes (about half way the cooking) add the Parmesan cheese. When the rice is almost ready, add the gorgonzola in irregular pieces and let it melt. Remove from the heat and stir in 6 tbsp of Balsamic. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Let it rest for 2 minutes. Serve on four flat dishes seasoning each portion with 1 tbsp of balsamic on top.

Risotto with Oysters

(Photo@TheFoodTraveller.com - Nikon D200)

It has being very difficult to find some spare time for cooking lately. It is somewhat depressing at times, but everything feels better after preparing a risotto like this one. It is simply one of the best seafood risottos I have ever eaten and the best I have ever done. The recipe is very simple, when opening oysters is a known art. Otherwise it might take a bit of time ...

PS: Ricetta in italiano alla fine!

Serves: 2 as a main dish or 4 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 7 or 3.5

Suggested wine: Definitively a Champagne with low or no dosage. Get a Tarlant Zero or a Boulard Brut Nature.

Ingredients:
- 12 (N.2) oysters
- 160g rice (vialone nano)
- 1 big shallot
- 300ml (warm) light chicken stock
- 1 glass of champagne
- 10g butter

How-to:
1. Open all the oysters being careful of keeping their juices. Chop the meat and filter the juices with a fine sieve to remove every shell piece.
2. Finely chop the shallot. Sauté them in the melted butter and, once golden, add the rice. Let it sauté for 2’ more. Add the champagne and let it evaporate.
3. Add about 100ml of the stock and let it get absorbed by the rice at medium-low temperature. Once it is mostly absorbed, add part of the oyster juices and repeat until the rice is cooked. You might need to use some more stock at the end depending on how much juice the oysters have released.
4. Remove from the heat and add the chopped oysters. Stir well. Let cool down for 2’ and serve on large flat dishes.

*********************************

Porzioni: 2
Punti WeightWatchers: 7 o 3.5

Suggestione vino: Suggerirei uno Champagne con basso livello di dosage come un Tarland.

Ingredienti:
- 12 ostriche (N.2)
- 160g riso (vialone nano)
- 1 scalogno
- 300ml brodo di pollo leggero (tiepido)
- 1 bicchiere di champagne
- 10g burro

Procedimento:
1. Aprire tutte le ostriche cercando di conservarne il succo che ne fuoriesce. Taglia le ostriche in pezzi medio/grandi e filtra la loro acqua attraverso un colino fine.
2. Trita lo scalogno finemente. Fargli prendere colore nel burro fuso per qualche minuto. Aggiungere il riso e soffriggere per un minuto a fuoco alto. Aggiungere lo champagne e far evaporare.
3. Fai assorbire un mestolo di brodo alla volta su una fiamma gentile. Il brodo deve sobbollire (o picchiettare in napoletano) ma non bollire fino a quando il riso. Continua con il succo delle ostriche e successivamente il resto del brodo (se necessario) finche' il riso non e' cotto.
4. Togliere dal fuoco e aggiunere le ostriche a pezzetti. Mescolare bene, lasciate riposare il risotto per un paio di minuti e servire su piatti piani.