There are few things that I like to cook more than risottos. They take a ton of work, endless stirring and good time management; however, the ability to layer flavors by using different stocks and ingredients makes it so that every time you make one it turns out slightly different and always wonderful. A trip to the farmer’s market inspired a recent creation of roasted red pepper risotto. The market had wonderful, thick fleshed and bright red bell peppers. They looked so good that I instantly knew that they would inspire me to avoid work for an evening choosing to instead spend a ton of time in the kitchen slowly stirring magical dry rice into a wonderfully creamy and one of a kind dish; with the ultimate payoff of savoring the slightly sweet and wonderfully complex flavored result of my labors.
What makes risottos so wonderful is the slow release of the starches in the rice grains, the result in their unique creamy texture that still has the crunch of a rice grain at its heart. Roasted red pepper risotto blends the sweet and slightly smoky goodness of roasted red peppers with the bite of roasted garlic and the warming tones of asiago cheese. It takes work, but the result is a versatile dish; it can stand alone as an appetizer (or if you eat as much as I do as a dinner) or it can serve as a base for any number or proteins (I used my leftovers as a base under pan seared tuna).
What you need:
2 large red peppers (3 if the flesh is on the thin side)
1 small head of roasted garlic
1 cup of Arborio rice
1 onion (cipollini work well, if you want to focus on the sweet flavors walla walla sweets)
1 glove garlic
1/3 to ½ cup white wine (again changing up the wine will result in slightly different flavors, I used a blend that was nearly 70% sauvignon blanc)
3 cups soup stock (so with risottos the key is the stock, it is a huge source of flavor so if you have some time make your own. In the past I have used vegetable stock with strong flavors. On this occasion I used a turkey stock with a lot of fennel).
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Dried basil
~1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese
Butter
A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.
Prep round 1 (this you can make ahead of time)
First you need to roast the red peppers and the garlic.
To roast peppers I use a stove top roaster, but you can also use a grill or the broiler in an oven.
No matter your heat source, rotate the peppers charring the skin until nearly all the skin is blackened. Once you have blackened the skin place the peppers in a plastic bag and tie it shut. The heated peppers will create steam to help loosen the skins.
After 10 minutes, peel the skin away from the flesh without using water. Water will decrease the flavor of the peppers. Then remove the inner core of the peppers and the seeds. Then slice the peppers into strips.
Place two thirds of the pepper strips into a food processor with half of the roasted garlic and blend into a paste.
Prep part 2: do this just before you are ready to cook
Finely dice the remaining 1/3 of the pepper strips and set aside.
Finely chop the onion and clove of garlic (seriously get the pieces as small as you can).
OK now that the prep is out of the way you are ready to get to work!
Bring your stock just to the point of slow simmer.
The first step is to make the sofritto (this is the set up I like with my small pot of stock on the burner behind my large pot for cooking the risotto)
In a large heavy bottomed pot heat ~4 tablespoons of olive oil (use at least enough to coat the bottom of the pot) over medium to medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot (but not yet to smoking) add the chopped onion and garlic.
Sautee the onions and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes (until the onion is translucent)
Then add about ½ of the wine and
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Let the wine simmer down to about ½ its original amount.
Then add the rest of the wine, as soon as the mixture starts to simmer add the rice.
From this point forward you are going to spend the majority of the next 30 minutes or so stirring.
Stir the rice to make sure it is well coated in mixture and continue to toast the rice for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and add about ½ cup of the hot stock (don’t get greedy and try to add more of the stock at once, it doesn’t work, you have to go slow).
Continue to stir regularly making sure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. As the rice absorbs the first round of stock you will have to step up the stirring.
Wait until nearly all of the stock has been absorbed before you add the next ½ cup of stock, it should be thick enough that when you drag a spoon through the rice it takes a moment for the rice to fill back in.
Continue this process for around 20 minutes replenishing the stock as needed. As the rice continues to absorb the stock it will release more of its starches and you will start to get the creamy texture of risotto. Before the rice is fully cooked, add a little bit of stock to the pureed red peppers to heat it up. Then add the red peppers to the rice and continue stirring.
Once the rice has absorbed most of the liquid from the pureed peppers and the finely diced peppers for just a small amount of texture (you can actually leave this out and just puree all the peppers, but I think it adds a little extra to have the diced peppers as well).
Once the risotto is cooked (think al dente pasta), add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and mixed throughout.
Finally, salt to taste and add the fresh thyme.
There is a quote that states that risotto doesn’t wait for people, people wait for risotto. This is true on every account. Risotto is at its very best when it just finished cooking, you really can’t cover it and wait for people as it loses it perfect texture. (Leftovers will work but they are not as good – fried risotto cakes are a good use). Likewise you can’t rush the cooking process, skipping steps changes textures and flavors. Therefore people must wait, and most are perfectly happy doing so, especially a procrastinator like myself.
