This hearty risotto dish from the Veneto region of Italy is cooked with radicchio, short-grain rice, red wine, asiago cheese, and shallots. Top it off with toasted hazelnuts and more asiago for crunch and luscious texture. Buon appetito!
Ingredients:
- 7 ounces (200 grams) pancetta, finely diced
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground black pepper
- 2 cups (480 ml) Vialone Nano rice (or substitute with arborio)
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry red wine
- 6 cups (1.4 L) vegetable stock, hot
- 2 small heads radicchio, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh thyme leaves
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) grated asiago, plus more for serving
- Toasted hazelnuts, for garnish
Method:
- Fry pancetta in a skillet over medium heat. When fat has rendered and pancetta has started to crisp up, pour out half of the fat from the pan.
- Add shallots and black pepper. Cook until shallots are translucent and soft.
- Add rice and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, until rice smells toasty.
- Add dry red wine and cook until it evaporates.
- Add 1 to 2 ladles of simmering vegetable stock to rice, stirring often. Once stock has evaporated, continue adding 1 to 2 ladles of stock, repeating this step until the dish is creamy but the rice is al dente.
- Add thinly sliced radicchio, thyme leaves, and grated asiago and fold to incorporate.
- When radicchio has just wilted, remove from heat and divide between serving dishes. Top with more grated asiago cheese, fresh radicchio, and toasted hazelnuts.