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Magical and elegant Caprese risotto recipe that has the perfect combination of Italian flavours, creaminess, juiciness, textures and freshness.
Risotto is an elegant Italian rice dish that is perfect for a light lunch or dinner and special enough for a dinner party. Adding flavour is the fun part that will set your risotto ahead of the rest. Caprese risotto is made using the colourful ingredients of the red white and green Italian flag, namely mozzarella, tomato and basil. Using some simple preparations and a few embellishments to these simple ingredients, we end up with a highly flavoured velvety tomato risotto with a gooey gratinated burrata topping that is simply divine.
A Caprese risotto recipe that is visually stunning
Making a vibrant red risotto couldn’t be easier and the result is visually stunning. By intensifying some vine tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes by slow roasting them in a cool oven for a couple of hours beforehand, or simply using shop-bought semi-dried tomatoes you will have an ingredient to use two ways. One that will pop with flavour in your mouth with the rice and one that is blended with some olive oil to make an intense satisfying umami savoury drizzle. Don't be afraid of using a little hint of chilli and a pinch of saffron to create an incredible flavour and a bit of indulgence that is easy to replicate time and time again.
An art to making the best risotto
There is an art to making a risotto recipe as many good chefs will tell you, however, it really only requires a modicum of care and attention with only a handful of stages to observe. As long as you don’t use too little stock, which won’t cook the rice, it is hard to use too much.
A traditional risotto from the north of Italy called Risi e bisi, for example, is flavoured with fresh spring peas and cooked in a broth that makes the dish almost like a very thick soup. Finding the right rice grain to use is important. A traditional risotto recipe is made with short grain rice rather than long grain rice such as basmati or Jasmine rice. The best varieties of rice to use are arborio rice, Carnaroli, Maratelli and Vialone nano.
Short-grained rice differs from longer-grained varieties due to the amount of starch they contain as when they absorb liquid, they release this starch into the surrounding sauce which gives risotto its familiar signature creamy texture. Due to the nature of these rice varieties, you do need to monitor your risotto and regularly stir them. This action of each grain rubbing against each other allows the rice to become gooey and velvety.
How to make Caprese risotto
There are easy stages to follow which should see you create a beautiful Caprese risotto.
First stage
First of all, you need to create your flavour for the risotto. This Caprese risotto is made with a rich tomato flavour, but not too strong. For this, we use oven-dried tomatoes rather than sun-dried tomatoes which would add too intense a flavour. Try making your own with vine cherry tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes and slow roast them in a 160℃/320°F oven for about two hours which makes them sweet, tangy and rich. These are amazing morsels that you can keep for other antipasti-type dishes such as squashed on sourdough toast for an amazing version of the Spanish Pan con Tomat. Alternatively, buy a jar of dried tomatoes from the deli aisle if you want to keep your timeframes down. Use half of the tomatoes and blitz them with some fresh basil and olive oil to make a highly flavoured drizzle and cut the rest up to add to your risotto.
Second stage
The next stage is to make your stock. Traditionally in Italy, saffron is added to give flavour to the risotto and also create its signature yellow colour, so we add a pinch of saffron to an aromatic chicken stock (for a vegetarian version you can use a vegetarian stock instead) added tomato passata. This really elevates the flavour to another level.
Once your main flavours have been prepared it is time to prepare your risotto.
Start with a good glug of olive oil in a pan on low heat. Add some chopped shallots or finely chopped onion, garlic and chilli and fry them off until translucent. Low heat is key at this stage as you do not want to caramelise the vegetables as they can discolour your risotto.
Then add the rice without washing the grains as you may do with other rice dishes. The starchier the better so that the risotto is rich and creamy. Stirring the rice in the oil so that there is a fine layer of fat over each grain known as 'tostatura' will prepare the rice ready for a little white wine which is another key ingredient to add flavour-wise followed by the rest of the oven-dried tomatoes.
Raising the heat at this stage encourages the rice to better absorb the liquid. Once the wine has been absorbed add the stock, ladle at a time until absorbed and make sure you constantly stir the risotto to bring out the starches.
Once all the stock has been absorbed, beat in some grated fresh parmesan which in Italy is known as 'mantecatura'. This gives a boosted umami flavour as well as creates a silkier and stringier texture. To add a little more creaminess you can also stir in a good spoonful of mascarpone cheese as an optional extra.
Third stage
As this is a Caprese risotto we add the white to accompany the red by tearing some burrata cheese over the rice which is then placed under a hot grill until gratinated. You could add mozzarella but grilled burrata is amazing and has a softer creamier texture which partners better with the rice.
The final texture of your Caprese risotto dish should be what in Italian is called 'all’onda', “like flowing waves” which is traditionally done by drizzling some hot olive oil over the top, but here we have our ludicrously tasty tomato oil made with the oven-dried tomatoes.
The final flourish is a garnish of some fresh basil leaves. And there you have it, the tricolour of red, white and green all in one tempting Italian Caprese risotto.
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Equipment
- 1 A heavy-bottomed, straight-sided skillet 10- to 12-inch
Ingredients
- 180 g of risotto rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli
- 50 g of semi dried or oven-dried cherry or San Marzano tomatoes
- 250 ml 250ml of chicken stock
- 250 ml of passata
- 120 ml of white wine
- 1 onion, finely chopped (red or white medium size)
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
- A pinch of saffron
- 10 g of grated parmesan
- 1 packet or (125-150g) of burrata
- 5 g or a handful of fresh basil leaves
- A pinch of chilli or a small mild red chilli, chopped and deseeded (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of mascarpone cheese (optional)
For the tomato oil
- 80 ml or ⅓ of a cup of olive oil
- 50 g of semi-dried or oven-dried cherry or San Marzano tomatoes
- 5 g or a handful of fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Tomato oil
- If you are making your own oven-dried tomatoes, chop the cherry tomatoes in half or San Marzano tomatoes into quarters and arrange them on a baking tray cut side up and drizzle over some olive oil and season with salt. Place in a 160℃ oven for 1-½ - 2 hours. Take out and cool.
- Chop up half of the tomatoes and reserve. Blitz the other half with olive oil and basil and set aside.
Make the risotto
- Make the chicken stock in a jug and add the saffron to infuse until it has turned yellow. Add the passata to the stock.
- Add some olive oil to a high-sided frying pan and put on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chilli (optional) and fry until softened. Pour in the rice and stir to fully coat each grain in the hot oil.
- Pour in the wine and stir the rice until the wine has been absorbed. Stir in the reserved chopped tomatoes.Add a ladle of the stock and stir until absorbed. Repeat this stage until you have used all of the stock up stirring all the time to create a creamy texture.
- Beat in the parmesan and (optionally) the mascarpone cheese and divide equally between 2-4 oven-safe plates.
- Tear the burrata into equal pieces and place them on top of each portion. Place under a preheated hot grill and gratinate for 2 minutes or until nicely browned. Drizzle over the tomato oil and garnish with basil and serve.
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