The beer risotto with mortadella and zucchini flowers is a gourmet dish with well balanced flavors, resulting in an unusual yet delicious combination! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the Giallozafferano App (in English) http://itunes.apple.com/app/giallozafferano-recipes/id384387249?mt=8
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This risotto will be very flavourful, so I’ll make a delicate vegetable broth. I’m using celery, carrot, onion and parsley. Cut them into rough chunks: peel the carrot and cut into chunks, peel the onion, but use only half for the broth, roughly cut into pieces, parsley, and add to the hot water, cover with a lid, leave a small opening and cook on a medium flame for about 30 minutes.
For my risotto, I’m using these aromatic herbs: a few rosemary needles – make sure to avoid the woody stem – wild fennel, a few sprigs of thyme and a few leaves of marjoram, very aromatic, finely chop… that’s it. Take a large piece of mortadella and cut into small cubes. Move on to the zucchini flowers, here’s how to clean them: first remove the green bits at the base, then remove the pistils, in this way; once cleaned, cut the flower into strips, in this way. Repeat with the remaining zucchini flowers, until used up.
In a pan, cook the remaining half onion, finely chopped, with a little oil and butter, on a low flame for about 10-15 minutes; add the rice and toast it for a couple of minutes… raise the heat a bit. And now move on to the most unusual step: pour in beer instead of wine. When the beer has completely evaporated, cook the rice by adding the broth, that has been strained, one ladleful at a time, of course.
5 minutes before the end of cooking, add the mortadella, the aromatic herbs, the grated zest of half lemon and a small piece of ginger, that has been peeled – in this way you don’t waste any of the grated ginger. It’s done! Add the zucchini flowers and turn off the heat. Lastly, stir in the grated parmesan cheese and a small piece of butter to make it creamy. Taste for salt… just a pinch more. Cover with a lid and allow to rest for at least a couple of minutes. And while my risotto is resting, let’s see together the ingredients needed for this recipe.
Beer risotto with mortadella and zucchini flowers
For 4 servings
1 ⅔ cups (320 g) of carnaroli rice
⅕ lb (90 g) of zucchini flowers
¼ lb (100 g) of mortadella
just under ½ cup (100 ml) of pale ale
just over ½ cup (60 g) of grated parmesan cheese
grated fresh ginger
1 sprig of wild fennel
a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary and marjoram
the grated zest of half lemon
half onion
3 ½ tbsp (50 g) of butter
a little extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of salt
pepper to taste
For the broth
4 ¼ pints (2 lt) of water
1 stalk of celery
half onion
1 carrot
1 small bunch of parsley
1 pinch of salt
Every time I make this risotto, there is none left! The flavours are distinct and well balanced, a dish for real connoisseurs… cook it yourself and let me know if you impressed your guests!
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