Today, I’m adventurous. I’m proposing a pineapple and strawberry risotto, a slightly exotic and definitely unusual recipe for us, but… it has its charm 🙂 and I’ll tell you, it’s delicious!
Around this time of year, you see a lot of strawberry risottos, and for a couple of years now I’ve been curious, I absolutely wanted to taste a strawberry risotto.
But I was hesitant, because of my family, wondering how they would react to flavors not familiar to us.
Then the opportunity to try it came along. It wasn’t due to the latest strawberry purchase, nor to a specific recipe found somewhere. The culprit of this experiment is a pineapple.
What’s pineapple got to do with a strawberry risotto? It’s part of it, as you can see from the title, this is not a simple strawberry risotto! 😀
I had bought the pineapple. And I left it there, waiting for my laziness to disappear.
Come on, don’t tell me peeling a pineapple is your favorite activity, because I won’t believe it! And it’s certainly not mine (favorite activity, I mean).
Well, when I realized the pineapple needed to be eaten or it would meet an inglorious end, I decided to peel it.
And since we rarely eat a whole pineapple at once, I decided to go for it and make a pineapple risotto, to which of course I added strawberries, otherwise what would be the point of the whole previous discussion about strawberry risottos?? 😀
Beautiful, right? My pineapple and strawberry risotto is quite a sight! I like it.
However, let’s clear up any misunderstandings… if you think this pineapple and strawberry risotto is sweet… well, think it. And you’re right, because it is. 😃
A pineapple and strawberry risotto can’t help but be a little sweet, let’s say sweetish.
Of course, the level of perceived sweetness can vary, depending on factors like the ripeness of the pineapple, the ripeness of the strawberries, the use of more or less savory vegetable broth, and the personal taste of those who eat it.
And personal taste is no small matter, it can really make a difference.
And on this note, I’ll tell you an anecdote. 🙂
When I was in high school, ages ago, I went on a study trip to Germany. The family I was staying with would make us a special breakfast toast every morning, which they considered great: with ham and melted cheese and… pineapple! That is, it was a slice of toast with three or four big chunks of pineapple, covered with ham (or not) and cheese (always) melted in a little oven.
I tried to eat it.
I never back down from trying new things, those who know me know that! But this toast, I just couldn’t eat it. This mix of sweet and savory, this combination of fruit and melted cheese, I couldn’t make myself like it.
Now, more than thirty years later, I’ve changed. Now I like these mixtures and contrasts of flavors. Back then, there were also other things I didn’t eat, which I now love, like orange salad, just to name one, and I could tell you the related anecdote about that too! (I won’t, don’t worry!).
Tastes can change. More importantly, we can change, and our horizons can expand.
So, now…
…now who wants to try making my pineapple and strawberry risotto? 😊
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Other risotto ideas you must try: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Creative
- Seasonality: All seasons, Valentine's Day
Ingredients
- 15 oz rice
- 6 oz pineapple
- 4.5 oz strawberries
- onion (a small piece)
- celery (a small piece)
- 1 shot cognac (or brandy)
- 1 qt light vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- orange peel powder (optional)
- poppy seeds (optional)
Tools
- 2 Saucepans
- Slicer pineapple slicer
- Knife
Steps
Heat the water or prepare a light vegetable broth (preferably with only onion, celery, and carrot).
Wash the strawberries and cut them into pieces.
Peel the pineapple and dice it.
(Of course, you can vary the amount of pineapple and strawberries to your taste).Chop celery and onion. Sauté the chopped vegetables in a little oil. (*)
Toast the rice then deglaze with the cognac.
Cook the rice by adding a ladle of hot water or vegetable broth at a time, and wait for it to be absorbed before adding the next ladle.
Halfway through cooking, add the pineapple.
A couple of minutes before finishing cooking, add the strawberries (doing it earlier, along with the pineapple, in my opinion, would overcook them).Let it rest for a couple of minutes then plate.
Garnish with poppy seeds and orange powder (if you don’t know my orange peel powder, you can find it HERE). Both are optional, but both add that extra touch, both aesthetically and in taste.
Optionally, you can replace poppy seeds with chia seeds and the orange powder with a light grating of orange zest (or lemon, why not).
Undoubtedly, this dish has a slightly exotic flavor, it’s a risotto a bit out of the ordinary, but that’s precisely why it’s worth trying!
(*) This time I used oil (because a pineapple and strawberry risotto is perfect as a vegan recipe), but instead of oil, I could see a pat of butter working well, not because it’s more suitable for risottos, as it is, but because it pairs well with pineapple. Update: alternatively, you can use coconut oil, which in this context, I find to be the best choice. 😉
Salt-Free Tips
Regarding the salt… today I’ll leave you free to decide. 😃 I used broth made with my vegetable granules made in a light version, only with celery, carrot, and onion (that’s why I recommended a light vegetable broth). If your pineapple and strawberry risotto is too sweet for you, you can try adding a pinch of salt to the vegetable broth (or water), or a very light sprinkle at the end of cooking. Let me know, though, as I’m curious. Adding salt in the presence of pineapple and strawberries makes me a bit uneasy, can I say that? 😃
Today I was unsure whether to leave my usual salt-free tips. But then I thought… why not! Salt-free tips are always helpful! 😉
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Reduce salt gradually, the palate needs to get accustomed slowly and shouldn’t notice the gradual reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, 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 pungent vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that don’t dilute flavors (grill, en papillote, steaming, microwave)
▫ Avoid placing the salt shaker on the table!
▫ Occasionally break the rules. It’s good for your mood and helps you 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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You can always find me on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s Group, in the Kitchen and Beyond and Just What I Was Looking For! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter.
