Caprese Risotto with Red Pesto and Bocconcini
Caprese as a risotto: the pesto of sun-dried tomatoes turns the rice a deep red, and the bocconcini go onto the finished plate, where the heat only just melts them instead of letting them run in the pot. Fresh, elegant and different from the usual risotto.
The creaminess does not come from cream, it comes from the starch in the rice and from beating in ice-cold butter and cheese at the end — the mantecatura. Which is why the butter and the cheese have to be cold and the pot off the heat before they go in.
Ingredients
- 320 g risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 100 ml white wine (1/2 glass)
- 1 litre hot vegetable stock
- 12 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 150 g grated hard cheese (Parmesan or Grana Padano)
- 80 g cold butter
- 10 bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), halved or quartered
- 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 15 fresh basil leaves
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Method
- 1
For the red pesto: blend the soaked sun-dried tomatoes with the olive oil and 4 tablespoons of the grated cheese to a smooth paste.
- 2
In a high-sided pot, soften the onion and the garlic in olive oil until translucent.
- 3
Add the rice and toast it for a couple of minutes until the grains are glossy.
- 4
Pour in the white wine and cook until the alcohol evaporates. Start adding the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring constantly so the rice releases its starch.
- 5
Once the rice is al dente (about 15-18 minutes), take it off the heat. Add the cold butter, the rest of the grated cheese and the red pesto.
- 6
Do the mantecatura, beating energetically to emulsify and reach the creaminess you want. Season.
- 7
Serve immediately, crowning each plate with the bocconcini, the fresh cherry tomatoes and the basil leaves.