Risotto all'Isolana
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup Vialone Nano or Carnaroli
  • 3 1/2 – 4 cups beef broth; although you can use chicken
  • 3 oz lean beef, finely diced
  • 3 oz pork tenderloin, finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 oz grated Parmagiano-Reggiano
  • 1 small sprig of Rosemary
  • a hefty pinch Cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
  1. Place meat in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside at room temp for one hour.
  2. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the rosemary branch along with the seasoned meat.
  3. Brown evenly for a few minutes over medium heat; discard the rosemary and set the meat aside.
  4. Bring 3 ½ cups of the beef broth just to a boil and add all of the rice all at once.
  5. Lower the heat to medium, cover the saucepan and cook for 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed by the rice; stir frequently, but not constantly to prevent sticking.
  6. If it gets too dry before the end of the cooking time, add another ½ cup of hot beef broth.
  7. When rice is al dente; stir in the browned meat, Parmagiano-Reggiano, and a good pinch of cinnamon.
  8. Remove from heat and cover again – Let stand for 5 minutes - Season with salt and pepper and serve.
RECIPE BACKSTORY
This is a slightly different method of making risotto. I highly recommend hunting down Vialone Nano or Carnaroli rice. Arborio doesn't seem to work with this method. Vialone nano doe not necessarily need to be stirred as much to create a great risotto. It is capable of absorbing 1.5 times as much liquid volume.