Blue Cheese Risotto

All the flavor of Italy on the table

When we think of Italian cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is a pasta dish or a pizza. However, beyond these typical elaborations, in Italy they are enthusiastic of risottos, especially the inhabitants of the north of the country. The reason is that in the area of ​​Veneto, Lombardy and throughout Piedmont, rice is grown, especially varieties rich in starch, essential when making a risotto so that the result is creamy but not broth.

But beyond the rice, it is necessary to take into account the cheese, mainly Parmigiano Reggiano, although Pecorino or Grana Padano are also used. It is also important to note that for cooking rice we should not use water, but a good stock of vegetables or poultry.

Once the rice is ready, you have to use a fundamental technique, mantecatto, which consists of adding cheese and butter without stopping to give it that dense consistency of a good Italian style risotto.

Next to this dish, on our table there should be a crispy focaccia with a glass of cava and a glass of Acqua Panna. Buon profitto!

Ingredients for 2 people

For the risotto

• 180 g of rice
• 600 ml of vegetable broth
• 80 g of blue cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small onion
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Also

• 6 sheets of wonton pasta
• Fresh arugula

Step by step elaboration

1. In a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil, sauté the onion and the clove of garlic, previously finely chopped, until they are transparent.
2. After about ten minutes, add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates.
3. Add the hot broth little by little to the rice and stir to avoid sticking. Add salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, fry the wonton pasta slices until they are crisp. Drain them on absorbent paper.
5. Once the rice is cooked in approximately 15 minutes, remove from the heat and add the blue cheese and about 25 g of arugula. Stir until it is integrated.
6. In a soup dish, place a spoonful of rice, a fried dough and finish with rice. Decorate with fresh arugula leaves.

‘Harmonies in Flavors and Fragrances’. By Juan Muñoz Ramos.

Two flavors mark this dish, the blue cheese and the rice, cheerful, yes, and the arugula that cleans and the wonton that offers a very pleasant texture in its crunch.

We need some very concrete liquid friendships: on the one hand, a water that hydrates and respects the dish as a whole and, on the other, an acidity with balance thanks to a long aging and base wines.

We talk about two great gastronomic friendships, a water like Acqua Panna -elegance and depth with a clean and direct flavor- and a Gran Cava like Cuvée DS Gran Reserva Brut.

With these friendships at the table, life I assure you, has a better flavor.

Tips

• For the broth, put a pot with water and different vegetables over low heat to extract all the flavor of the vegetables.
• If you don’t have vegetable broth, you can use chicken broth.