But does the farmer know how good cheese is with pears? Eh eh, you know what I’m saying? Whether he’s a farmer or not, anyone who eats my risotto definitely knows!!!! 😀
Here it is.
I’ve racked my brains so much to come up with a phrase that would best introduce the recipe, that now after this fantastic opening… I feel like I have nothing else to say!
Come on, admit it that you too are speechless because of my sense of humor! 😀
And so… onwards, let’s embark on this amazing adventure…
Yes, I’ll stop right away! I know that comedy isn’t my thing ha ha!
But it’s just that today I’m so happy!!
And the reason for all this euphoria is a simple risotto, which I pulled out of the hat of my always understocked kitchen. And oh, I must tell everyone that I feel super-satisfied!, for having used the pear instead of any vegetable searched in the fridge… and not found 😀
That’s exactly how it happens to me sometimes, that cooking impulsively works better for me than cooking on demand. Like when I have to prepare for guests, I always make a mess and make unforgivable mistakes, and instead, when I go ‘as it comes’, like today, everything goes smoothly like a charm.
I did risk it, of having to change the recipe. Because a risotto with pears was really daring, to propose to two children who mistrust experiments and a husband who doesn’t eat pears! 😀 😀
But this risotto dared to turn out well and good on the first try, and everyone approved of it! Flavia was enthusiastic about it and asked me to redo the recipe soon, to my delight.
So, with this cheese and pear risotto today I can proudly participate in my second Monday appointment with Light and Tasty 🙂 (today’s topic: risotto!).
Are you ready?
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More risotto ideas:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 3
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 462.87 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 70.96 (g) of which sugars 8.61 (g)
- Proteins 11.07 (g)
- Fat 11.98 (g) of which saturated 6.97 (g)of which unsaturated 3.90 (g)
- Fibers 2.84 (g)
- Sodium 1,549.95 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 258 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 cup g Carnaroli rice
- 1 cup g Williams pear (not too ripe)
- 3 oz g cheese (mixed pecorino)
- 1/3 cup g yellow onion (half a small onion)
- 1/3 cup g dry white wine
- 1 tbsp g butter
- to taste vegetable broth (I used 1.2 liters)
- to taste pepper
Preparation
First, prepare the vegetable broth.
For brevity, I made it with the granular prep that I make myself with the dehydrator and always keep in a jar. If you’re interested in the idea, I’ll leave you my two recipes,
the salt-free one: Salt-free Vegetable Granules
and the one with salt: Vegetable Granular Broth, in case you’re not (yet 🙂 ) ready to try reducing salt in your diet (I cook without salt, did you already know? 😉 ).
Closing the parenthesis on salt and vegetable broth, here are the instructions for the risotto:
When the broth boils, chop the onion and let it soften in the butter.
Add the rice and toast it by stirring with a spoon.
When it’s toasted and dry, deglaze with the wine.
Cook the rice traditionally, adding a ladleful of broth at a time and letting it evaporate well before adding the next one.
Cut the pear and cheese into pieces.
The pear was actually half in my case, being rather large, and I didn’t peel it because it was organic, locally sourced.
The cheese is a mixed pecorino from the Marche hinterland that I bought just yesterday, and it came in handy today 🙂 It can be replaced with pecorino, or caciocavallo or scamorza.
The cooking time indicated on the rice package was 16-18 minutes. While cooking, I didn’t check the time with a clock, I went by sight tasting it and in the end, it took me 25 minutes, cooking it on low heat and without covering it.
I added the pears before the last ladle of broth, allowing the pieces a very brief cooking, and added the cheese at the end with the heat off, during the creaming stage.
Plate, give a little tap with your hand under the plate to distribute the risotto well on the plate, and serve immediately.
When serving, sprinkle with a pinch of pepper.
Variation: To add a crunchy note you can decorate the plate with chopped walnuts or almonds.
I got this crunchy idea while photographing the dish and I was already out of time (penalty: cooling! 😀 ), next time I have to remember to chop some before starting to cook!
I’ll say goodbye!, inviting you to the next recipe and leaving you with the risotto proposals of my colleagues from the Light and Tasty Team 🙂
Carla: Risotto with Annurca Apples and Pecorino
Daniela: Creamy Risotto with Zucchini and Goat Ricotta
Elena: Risotto with Apples and Speck
Franca: Carrot and Saffron Risotto on Borage Cream
Mary: Risotto with Swiss Chard and Parmesan
Milena: Risotto with Saffron, Bottarga, Lemon, and Black Garlic
For those interested in the WW Propoints diet, reminding you that the pear counts 0 points, and that this dish is almost a complete meal, the points I calculated for this recipe are:
– 70 g portion of rice (i.e., one-third of this recipe): 11.2 points
– more abundant portion, 110 g of rice, (i.e., half the recipe): 16.9 points
Salt-Free Tips
As you know, I cook without added salt, a healthy habit that is – really – much simpler to follow than it might seem 😉
First step: read the following my tips!!! 😀
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Reduce the salt gradually, the palate must slowly get used to it and not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granular
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking that doesn’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a breach of the rule. It’s good for morale and helps to persevere.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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