Mediterranean Risotto

Behind the scenes of my Mediterranean Risotto: towards the final of the Rice Food Blogger Contest

When you have an unforgettable experience, you are afraid to try to repeat it for fear that it will disappoint you and spoil the fairytale atmosphere of your memories. With the ‘Chef Giuseppina Carboni’ Rice Food Blogger Contest this was not the case: the second experience not only did not disappoint expectations, but even gave us surprises and emotions that were totally unexpected: let’s discover the behind the scenes of my Mediterranean Risotto.

The day of the final

There were 12 of us, the semi-finalists of the contest, at the Chef Academy in Terni to challenge each other to the sound of risottos created from a mystery box designed by chef and jury member Roberta Massoli of the La Pergola Restaurant in Magliano Sabina.
My mystery box contained strawberries, goat cheese, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and Maremma rice.

The result: my Sweet Thoughts Risotto, cooked with strawberries, creamed with a goat’s cheese cream and served with a parmesan and pine nut crumble that I loved. Actually, the jury, composed of Chef Academy director Ronny Albucci, Chef Roberta Massoli, Chef Matteo Barbarossa, the winner of the last edition of the Contest, Cristiana Curri, and the event organiser Luca Puzzuoli , also liked it, and in addition to choosing me among the 5 finalists, they declared my risotto the best of the semifinal!

And do you know what was at stake? A real chef’s jacket from the prestigious host cooking school, the first one I have ever worn.

Furthermore, the products of the initiative’s sponsors have been gracing our table for several days: Maremma rice, Parmigiano Reggiano, Flagella tomatoes, Verrigni pasta and Infinito extra virgin olive oil.

A great surprise of this edition was the lunch organised at the Italyheart oil mill in Fornole di Amelia: a masterpiece from start to finish! In addition to a divine lunch, where my children for the first time tasted wild boar meat and pigeon with anchovy paste, there was a very interesting mini-lesson by Angela Canale – agronomist, panel head, olive oil expert – on Italian extra virgin olive oil and a tasting dedicated to the Infinito oil produced by the oil mill that welcomed us.

Many products for one risotto: my Mediterranean Risotto

Waiting for the highly anticipated final on 21 July in which I will see the other finalists, Bianca and Marta, Angela, Alessia and Sara, I couldn’t help but create a risotto with the extraordinary products that the organisers and sponsors have given us… I must admit that if the mystery box of the final contained these ingredients, few palates would be able to resist!

Enjoy this risotto!

Mediterranean Risotto

21.6g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

approx. 2 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
360g Carnaroli rice
300g Flagella tomato sauce
85g cow’s milk mozzarella
65g Stracchino cheese or another cream cheese
60g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
60g extra virgin olive oil
30g carrots
30g leek
30g water
15g celery
salt, oregano, basil and Infinito extra virgin olive oil to garnish

Preparation

First prepare the tomato cream. Put about 20g of Infinito extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan with the chopped leek, carrot and celery. Let the vegetables soften and brown, then add the Flagella tomato sauce, a pinch of salt and a ladle of stock; let it cook for about 15 minutes and whisk to obtain a homogeneous sauce, finally set aside.
Prepare the cream cheese with mozzarella, stracchino cheese and 30g water; whisk for a few seconds until smooth and allow to rest at room temperature.
Start preparing the rice. Put a little oil in a pan and toast the rice on a high heat (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and only add stock when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. After about 5 minutes, add the tomato sauce and continue to cook the risotto.
Turn off the heat, leaving the rice still al dente, and start stirring in about 40g of extra virgin olive oil so that the starch is released and forms a nice creamy texture; then add the grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated. Let the risotto rest for at least 1 minute covered with a dish towel.
Serve by placing a spoonful of mozzarella cream at room temperature in the centre of the plate; pour a few drops of extra virgin olive oil over the cream, place a basil leaf on top and sprinkle with a pinch of oregano.
Serve and dream of summer in one of our beautiful Mediterranean countries!

Mediterranean Risotto

June 20, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Rice cabbage rolls au gratin

Primi piatti, Secondi piatti

Cabbage and Savoy cabbage have been with us all winter and have given us an incredible variety of preparations. One of our favourite recipes is Rice cabbage rolls au gratin and it is for several reasons.

First, we like the name in Italian, “Valigini” meaning small suitcases, trolleys, because a small suitcase always contains something we take with us on a trip and maybe even a gift from a faraway place when we return… it gives us a foretaste of surprise. Then, we like it because it is an explosion of colours in a season that is not very lively.

Moreover, it is a delicacy that can be easily served as a one-course meal, both for its satiating power and for its nutritional composition: carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins. And finally, for the delicate but, at the same time, full and rich flavour of those surprises kept in our little suitcases: the sweetness of the raisins enhanced by the unmistakable savouriness of the pecorino cheese, the crunchiness of the cashews and the tenderness of the soft green cabbage that envelops them.

In short, a preparation that makes adults happy and makes kids forget that they are eating the often ‘hated’ vegetables.

Rice cabbage rolls au gratin

13.74g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

800g cabbage cooking water
370g green cabbage (the 6 largest outer leaves)
150g purple cabbage
200g Carnaroli rice
50g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
50g raisins
40g red wine
30g cashews or Brazil nuts
30g Pecorino cheese, grated
25g extra virgin olive oil
25g spring onion
10g butter
salt and pepper

Preparation

Take 6 large leaves of green cabbage. Wash them and blanch them in boiling salted water for a few minutes; drain and throw them in cold water. Wait a few moments, drain them well on paper towels and keep the hot cooking water as vegetable stock.
Put a little oil in a pan, soften the thinly chopped spring onion, then add the thinly sliced purple cabbage in small pieces; after lightly browning, add a drop of water and cook the cabbage almost through, allowing the liquid to evaporate.

Rice preparation

Throw the rice in the pan with the cabbage and toast it well. Pour red wine and allow to evaporate, when the smell of alcohol has disappeared, start stirring the rice using the cooking water from the outer leaves. Add the soaked raisins and lightly chopped cashews and continue to roll the rice.

The rice ready for the stir-frying

When the rice is almost cooked, but still rather al dente, cream it with butter and Parmesan cheese; let it cool and spread it out on a rather large plate so that the rice does not brown: in this way, the risotto should be cooked to perfection after gratin.
Take the blanched leaves and cut them in half, removing the harder, thicker central rib. Place a heaped spoonful of risotto on each half and roll the cabbage forming a cylinder.

Preparing the rolls

The rolls before baking au gratin

Place the rolls in an oven dish, sprinkle with grated pecorino cheese and drizzle a little oil on the surface.

Grate under the oven grill at 220°C for about 10 minutes until the pecorino is lightly browned.

The rolls ready to be enjoyed

This recipe participates in the Contest “Rice Food Blogger 2017 – Chef Giuseppina Carboni“

April 28, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Easter pie

Primi piatti, Secondi piatti

Easter is getting close, so here is a great traditional classic your family lunch: Easter pie.
Let’s say that it is also the perfect solution to get children to eat vegetables without boring them. Our version does not include egg in the filling as a blending ingredient, as it is used hard boiled to be seen when slices are cut.

Easter pie

19.37g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

510 g brisée pastry** (corresponding to almost 2 rolls of ready made gluten free Buitoni Brisée Pastry)
500g mixed leafy greens
310g ricotta cheese
150g baby spinach
130g string beans
100g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
30g pine nuts
20g extra virgin olive oil
4 hard boiled eggs
salt and egg for brushing

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

Blanch the greens and spinach in two non-stick frying pans with a little oil and just the water remaining after washing the vegetables. Allow the water to evaporate well or remove it before chopping the vegetables.
Boil the string beans in salted water, drain and cut into pieces.
Place chopped greens and spinach in a bowl, add the string beans, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts; finally, season with salt.
Roll out a thin disc of dough on a sheet of parchment paper to cover a 24cm diameter tin, leaving a few centimetres of dough around the edge. Pour in some of the filling and place the 4 peeled hard-boiled eggs in the shape of an X, staying 3-4 cm from the centre (think about how the slices will be cut so that the whole egg can be seen), cover with the remaining filling and try to lightly level everything out; then cover with a second disc then, with the help of a fork, fold the edges, seal them and pierce the surface.
Brush with a little beaten egg.
Bake the Easter pie in a static oven preheated to 200°C for about 20 minutes until the surface is golden brown.

Version with gluten of Easter pie

Replace gluten-free brisée with standard brisée.

April 14, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Recipes from the world: Cantonese rice

Primi piatti

Today we want to try a speciality of Asian cuisine, a light but tasty dish that combines rice with vegetables, fish and spices.
In short, an irresistible one-course meal: Cantonese rice.

If you like oriental flavours, how about a curry preparation? We love Couscous with prawn and courgette curry!

Here’s the shopping list!

Cantonese Rice

20.48g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

300g long-grain rice
150g shelled prawns
150g yellow pepper
150g red pepper
100g peas
50g spring onion
50g soy sprouts
2 eggs
1 piece of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Cook the rice in plenty of salted water, drain and set aside.
Chop the spring onions and sauté them in the wok with a few tablespoons of oil together with the diced pepper and soy sprouts.

Add the peas and chopped ginger after 5 minutes. Let the vegetables cook for about 10 minutes, then add the shrimps and let them warm up well. Remove the mixture from the wok and keep it warm.

Whisk two eggs in a bowl, put 2 tablespoons of oil in a hot wok and add the eggs by scrambling them with two chopsticks (the kind used in Chinese restaurants).

Once the egg is finally done, add it to the rice and vegetables, top with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and serve piping hot.

Version with gluten of Cantonese rice

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

April 11, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

After-eight egg pasta triangles

Primi piatti

Sweet and savoury together, but also mint and chocolate coming together, our recipe today is a mix of flavours and contrasts: After-eight egg pasta triangles.
A pleasant pasta enclosing a soft filling with an intense flavour. In short, an appetising first course to surprise with something new and unexpected.

If you love fresh pasta, also try Sardinian Culurgiones a work of art of workmanship and taste!

After-eight egg pasta triangles

29.48g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the egg pasta for 8 persons

500g fresh pasta flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
5 eggs
15g bitter cocoa powder*
40g water
20g extra virgin olive oil
3g salt

Ingredients for stuffing

400g boiled and mashed potatoes 300g freshly grated sweet Pecorino cheese
30g grated medium-aged Pecorino cheese
30g extra virgin olive oil
10g chopped mint
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
milk and salt as needed

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

Prepare the dough by mixing flour, eggs, cocoa, water, oil and salt by hand or in a planetary mixer. In no time, you will obtain a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Put the grated cheese and the mashed potatoes in a bowl and mix well until an even mixture is obtained. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and as soon as it is hot, add the chopped garlic and stir; turn off the heat and add the chopped mint. Let it rest for a minute, then pour the aromatic oil over the potato and Pecorino mixture. Mix well, add salt to taste and, if the mixture is too thick, soften it with a few tablespoons of warm milk.
Now, take the dough and roll it out with a pastry cutter to the penultimate or third last hole; with a toothed cutter, cut 8cm squares.
Using a teaspoon, or your hands, place the filling in the centre of the square, then close forming a triangle and pinching the edges together to seal the ravioli tightly.
Bring the water to the boil, salt it lightly and gently toss in the triangles. After a few minutes, drain them and dress them with melted butter together with a few mint leaves and grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.

Version with gluten of After-eight egg pasta triangles

Replace gluten-free flour with wheat flour and reduce the amount of water used to 15g.

March 28, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

Primi piatti

Dense, creamy and delicious! Definitely Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika is a tasty way to get children to eat vegetables and pulses.

The sweetness of pumpkin, combined with the unmistakable flavour of lentils, makes this soup perfect also for children, while if you want to give a twist to sweetness, paprika or, why not, chilli pepper, will be the ideal solution.

A light, balanced and tasty meal!

Do you love soups and creams? Try my Cabbage, potato and shallot soup.

Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

3.75g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

1.3 litres of water
700g pumpkin
375g onions
50g lentils
1 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp turmeric (optional)
1 pinch of chilli pepper
extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Cut the pumpkin and onion into small pieces, season with oil, salt and pepper and place in a baking dish covered with parchment paper; bake at 200°C for 20 minutes and set aside.
Put water on the stove with garlic, bay leaf and lentils; cook for about ten minutes. Now add the baked pumpkin and onion, keeping a few pieces aside to decorate the dishes.
Finish cooking the lentils and vegetables, remove the garlic and bay leaf, then blend and season with spices, salt and pepper. Finally, add the vegetable pieces left whole.
Serve with a drizzle of oil and croutons to taste.

Version with gluten of Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

March 21, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Three-colour flan: all the taste of vegetables

Primi piatti, Secondi piatti

Vegetables are the biggest challenge for us as parents: preparing them in a tasty and appetising way to win children over is not always easy. The Three-colour flan can be a winning idea as it contains some of children’s favourite vegetable ingredients, namely potatoes, pumpkin and carrots.

Given the richness of potatoes and pumpkin in carbohydrates, as well as the presence of cheese and egg, the Three-colour flan can be eaten as a one-course meal, quenching even the most insatiable appetites.

Furthermore, you can also use this wonderful dish as a side dish or, why not, a main course to propose during a dinner with friends with vegetarian preferences, perhaps combined with a Ratatouille.

Three-colour flan

9.54g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

800g potatoes
700g courgettes
400g pumpkin
300g carrots
100g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
25g butter
10g breadcrumbs**
1 egg
to taste salt, pepper, oil

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

Boil the potatoes and mash them in a potato masher, then season with a knob of butter, half of the Parmesan cheese and egg. Boil the carrots and mash them too. Steam the pumpkin and thinly sliced courgettes with a little oil and salt. Once the pumpkin is cooked, repeat the operation with a potato masher, add the carrots, a little Parmesan cheese, salt to taste, and complete the mixture with some mashed potatoes.
Form a layer of courgettes on the bottom of an oven-proof dish and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover everything with the pumpkin mixture, press well and top with a layer of mashed potatoes.
Dust the surface with a little breadcrumbs, put a few tufts of butter on top and bake au gratin in the oven at 200°C for about 20 minutes, until a nice crust has formed. Serve the flan warm or lukewarm.

Tortino-ai-tre-colori-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Three-colour flan

Version with gluten of Three-colour flan

Just replace the gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard ones.

January 20, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

Primi piatti

The New Year has arrived and with it the cold that has brought us to enjoy the warmth of home these days, perhaps snuggled up on the sofa in front of a good film. And you know that for us cold temperatures equate to tasty, wholesome soups, to be enjoyed perhaps accompanied by croutons and a good glass of wine, just like the Broccoli and cauliflower velouté.

Today, we recommend a recipe that is light, easy to prepare and perfect for delighting children and adults alike with healthy seasonal vegetables.

If you like soups, you can also try my Pulse and vegetable soup.

Here’s what you need to prepare it!

Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

4.41g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

400g cauliflower
400g broccoli
400g potatoes
200g onions
1.2 litres of water
extra virgin olive oil and salt as needed

Preparation

Put the sliced onion in a pan with oil, add the broccoli and cauliflower florets, the diced potatoes and finally cover with water.
Bring to the boil and cook for 40 minutes until the vegetables have become soft. Blend everything, adjust salt and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and possibly some croutons.
Simple, isn’t it? 🙂

Version with gluten of Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

January 10, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

From Tuscan tradition, Ribollita

Primi piatti

You know, we like to fight the cold at the table with dishes rich in flavour and able to warm even the coldest winter days, and Ribollita is always one of the first choices.

Here is our recommendation today, a great classic coming from the Tuscan gastronomic tradition: Ribollita, an irresistible speciality prepared with simple and wholesome ingredients, as its peasant history dictates.

And Ribollita is so good that it will win over even the most stubborn vegetable detractors, just like the Vegetable mix au gratin.

Ribollita

3.25g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

400g canned cannellini beans*
200g carrots
180g courgettes
150g kale
150g savoy cabbage
150g potato
100g onions
100g leek
70g herbs
300g ripe tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 clove garlic
1 bunch of herbs
1 potato
water, extra virgin olive oil and salt as needed
bread croutons**

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Ribollita

Wash and chop the vegetables. Put a little oil in a large saucepan, add onion and leek (let them sweat), then carrot, potato, courgette, Savoy cabbage, herbs and tomatoes.
Cover with water (about 2 litres) and add salt; prepare a bunch of herbs tied with string and add it to the vegetables; finally, add garlic. Let it cook for a long time, add the beans and continue cooking.
When the vegetables are perfectly cooked, set 1/3 of the vegetables aside and blend the rest.

Serve the soup with slices of stale bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Version with gluten of Ribollita

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, while you may have to replace the gluten free bread croutons with standard ones.

December 16, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Cold weather? Go for a Lentil soup

Primi piatti

As the cold weather arrives, the best thing to do is to pamper yourself with food that will warm even the coldest of days, providing the right amount of nutrients without forgetting taste, and for this there is nothing better than a steaming Lentil soup.

Well, the season of soups, the main dish for winter evenings, has begun again. The protagonists of our recipe are pulses and, more precisely, lentils. If you like lentils, discover Rascino lentils and how to cook them to prepare a Pulse pasta with Rascino lentils.

So, ready to prepare it?

Lentil Soup

12.26g carbohydrates per 100g soup without pasta

Ingredients

200 g lentils
100g carrots
90g onions
50g celery
gluten-free Ditalini rigati pasta** (optional)
water, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

Cover the lentils with water in a large saucepan, add the carrot, celery, a small bunch of parsley and the onion in large pieces and cook without salt.

Once the lentils are ready, drain them but keep the cooking water and remove the parsley.
Put the carrot, celery and onion (if you do not like onion, you can remove it) and possibly some of the lentils in a food processor with a few tablespoons of cooking water and blend to form a cream.
At this point, you can decide whether to complete the soup with or without pasta. In case you decide to prepare it with pasta, cook some Ditalini rigati in the cooking water of the lentils and, only at the end of cooking, pour the cooked lentils and the vegetable cream in the pan with pasta. If, on the other hand, you do not want to use pasta, assemble the soup by mixing the cooked lentils with the vegetable cream and the amount of cooking water necessary to reach the desired density.
Then serve the soup hot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Version with gluten of Lentil soup

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten. If you add pasta, replace gluten-free pasta with standard pasta.

November 11, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli