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Pear and blue cheese risotto

Chef Danilo Angè

Difficulty: easy

Method: 10

Cooking: 30

Difficulty: easy

Method: 10

Cooking: 30

Chef Danilo Angè

Difficulty: easy

Method: 10

Cooking: 30

Difficulty: easy

Method: 10

Cooking: 30

Basic preparations

Vegetable stock

Method

  1. 01 / Prepare the pears

    Wash and peel the pears

    Remove the core

    Cut them into dices of about 1 cm

    Melt the butter in a frying pan over a low heat

    Add the pears and cook for 5 minutes over a moderate flame

    Turn off the heat when they are golden brown but soft

  2. 02 / Prepare the sauté for the risotto

    Finely chop the onion

    Put the onion in a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil over moderate heat

    Cook for about 5 minutes until the onion wilts, it should not brown

  3. 03 / Toast the rice

    Add the rice to the fried mixture

    Turn the rice for a couple of minutes until toasted without changing colour – it should be very hot when touched with the back of the hand

  4. 04 / Cook the risotto

    Add the white wine and let it evaporate

    Add the boiling broth, the rice must always be covered with liquid

    Cook, stirring occasionally, adding a little stock at a time when necessary

    Remove from the heat after about 18 minutes

    Add the cooked pears

  5. 05 / Blend the risotto

    Add the blue cheese, the Parmesan cheese and cold butter

    Hold the handle of the saucepan and move it vigorously back and forth to mix the ingredients

    Add salt and pepper to taste

  6. 06 / Serving

    Arrange the risotto on serving plates

Wine pairing

If you choose a sweet blue cheese, serve the risotto with a fragrant and persistent white wine like a South Tyrolean Gewurztraminer or a smooth white wine like a Riesling.

Instead, for a spicy blue cheese, pairing with a structured and aged red wine is a good choice: in this case Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Amarone della Valpolicella are perfect.

Basic preparations

Vegetable stock

Risotto should be prepared and served there and then, but you can prepare the stock in advance.

Another very useful tip is to replace the fried onion or shallot with a flavoured oil you can prepare in advance and use for other recipes too. Chop the onion/shallot, put it in a saucepan and cover it completely with extra virgin olive oil. Cook it on a low flame or in the microwave until the onion/shallot is transparent. Leave to infuse and cool, filter and store the flavoured oil covered in the fridge.

The onion must not brown in the frying pan.

The rice must not change colour during the toasting process to seal the rice grain and allow it to release the right amount of starch when needed.

From mid-cooking onwards, the stock should only be added as necessary, as it is absorbed, so as not to end up with a risotto with too much broth.

The final mixing phase must be done with the heat off, using cold butter and Parmesan cheese to obtain a creamy risotto.

Do not choose pears that are too ripe and soft, they could disintegrate while cooking.

If you have leftover pear and blue cheese risotto, store it in the fridge up to a couple of days. When using it, spread it on a buttered baking tray, sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and butter flakes, then bake it au gratin in the oven at 190°C.

The most suitable rice qualities for a creamy risotto are Carnaroli, Roma, Arborio and Vialone Nano.

In the traditional recipe, the rice was sautéed with the butter, about 25 grams, and onion. Nowadays butter is replaced more and more with extra virgin olive oil.

Replace the vegetable stock with meat stock if you wish but it should be without salt and used hot.

In Italy it is said that a successful risotto must be “all’onda“: this means that it must be thick and creamy enough to allow creating a wave in the saucepan with a sharp blow with your wrist during the final mixing phase.

Use the pears you prefer, as long as they are ripe but hard.

You can use any type of blue cheese you like; if you opt for sweet blue cheese, bear in mind that, in addition to the difference in taste, it is softer and creamier than spicy blue cheese.

Ingredients for 4 people

320 g carnaroli rice

60 g of onions

25 g of butter for the sauté

40 g of butter for the creaming

60 ml white wine

1 lt di vegetable stock

120 g sweet blue cheese

30 g grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

For the pears

200 g of pears

20 g butter

Wine pairing

If you choose a sweet blue cheese, serve the risotto with a fragrant and persistent white wine like a South Tyrolean Gewurztraminer or a smooth white wine like a Riesling.

Instead, for a spicy blue cheese, pairing with a structured and aged red wine is a good choice: in this case Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Amarone della Valpolicella are perfect.

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