I loved Two Greedy Italians when it was on TV last year, Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo are hilarious together and made us laugh every week. Of course, knowing me, I just had to get their book and you know what? I use it all the time!
As you might know, if you read my blog regularly, I am a big fan of Italian food, having visited Tuscany several times with my parents who stay with friends every year in the beautiful villa in the Garfagnana region (not too far from Lucca). I love everything about the place but most of all, the food, and I love cooking Italian meals at home! Combine my love of the Greedy Italians and eating the cuisine and this pecorino and balsamic risotto is right up my street!
Ingredients, serves 4:
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, very finely chopped
- 350g arborio risotto rice
- 50ml white wine
- 80g pecorino cheese, freshly grated plus extra to serve
- Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Method:
- Put the stock in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave over a low heat.
- Heat two tbsp oil in a medium sized saucepan (I used my trusty frying pan) and sweat the onion until soft. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated with oil, then add the wine and stir until it evaporates.
- Add a couple of ladlefuls of stock and cook, stirring all the time, until it has been absorbed.
- Repeat with more stock, and continue in this way until the rice is cooked al dente, which usually takes about 20 mins.
- Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Remove from the heat and beat in the pecorino and remaining olive oil with a wooden spoon. Leave to rest for a minute and then divide between 4 plates. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with some more pecorino before serving.
This pecorino and balsamic risotto is really creamy and very tasty. We weren’t sure how the balsamic vinegar would taste but it actually worked well, cutting through the richness of the cheese. For such a simple dish, this was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it again. It felt like very authentic Italian cooking where less is almost always more. I’ve blogged about Two Greedy Italians before – here’s my post on their handmade sausages with pepper sauce.
it's like the picture on the page has come to life… very simple but so so delicious and I guess sometimes it's those little things in recipes, like the balsamic vinegar here, that one would never think of or put in but it must be there for a reason right?… LOVE a risotto… thanks so much for entering this month x
Yes I totally agree! The balsamic vinegar really works well, surprisingly. This is a lovely recipe, its simplicity works so well and I'll definitely make it again – thanks to the Random Recipe challenge!
Oh I love the idea of balsamic on my risotto, thanks for sharing, I think I will have to try this one!
Thanks Sarah, yes it works well, surprising indeed and all thanks to belleau kitchen!
I've had balsamic vinegar on risotto before, and although I was sceptical at first, it was absolutely delicious. This looks similarly tasty (and beautiful)
Thanks Ruth for your comment – I'll be making this risotto again definitely. Where did you try it?
Beautiful, simple food. You can't really do better than this on a dark, cold February evening. Providing you've got some decent balsamic left – I think someone's drinking mine.
You absolutely made this risotto correctly. It looks great!
What a great idea. I love the sound of the balsamic cutting through the richness. I am bookmarking this one so thanks alot for sharing !
I remember noticing a while back that Jamie Oliver (who obviously has big love for Gennaro) often uses vinegar at the end of a dish, I'm always pleasantly surprised at the difference it makes. The balsamic on this looks beautiful.
Thanks everyone for your comments, its always good to hear peoples opinions. I can't recommend this risotto highly enough, you can make something magical out of very little!
Thanks everyone for your comments, its always good to hear peoples opinions. I can't recommend this risotto highly enough, you can make something magical out of very little!
Hi! Cooking this at the moment. I know you’re response won’t come in time. There is no mention of what temp to cook anything other than the stock. Thx!
Hi Megan, hopefully it all turned out ok?? I will update the instructions to make it clear but I’d say just on a medium heat. 🙂