Take one look at that mouth-watering photo, or as I like to refer to it : Food Porn– and you can tell we are dealing with a professional here folks.
I met Paula on Twitter, and eveytime I saw one of her recipes (and delicious photos) I knew she was the real deal. I knew that whatever contribution she made as a guest blogger here, would be simple, delicious, and of course, Italian. And I knew that my readers would just gobble her up!
So today, I am very excited to welcome, Paula and her contribution, Roasted Red Pepper Risotto.
Here's Paula…
I am so honored to have been asked by Robin to do a guest post on MyMelange. I met Robin on Twitter earlier this year and have loved her blog and, of course, her, ever since. She is one of the funniest tweeps out there.
We have many things in common but the biggest of them is ITALY! We both are crazy for L'Italia. Oops, how rude of me, I'm so sorry I didn't introduce myself, silly me, I'm Paula and I am a food writer & recipe developer for bellalimento.com
Bell'Alimento is Italian for “beautiful food.” My food philosophy is simple…beautiful food doesn't have to be complicated. But just because it's not complicated doesn't mean it has to bland or boring. Oh no! At least not on bell'alimento.
I am so happy to stop by with a recipe to share with you. Naturally it had to be Italian! No brainer there & with Fall upon us I thought a good Risotto recipe would be perfetto.
I am unashamedly a Risotto Lover. I have many Risotto recipes on my site and know there will be many more to come. Once you have the basic recipe down the varities of Risotto are endless. If you haven't made Risotto, fear not. It's not as complicated as you would imagine or might have heard. Yes, you will have to mind the pot while it's cooking & stir fairly often but the payoff will more than make up for it.
A few things to remember: If you'd like to use a fresh red bell pepper instead that's fine. Be sure to clean it & chop it into bite size pieces. You'll need to put it into the mixture a little earlier on in the cooking process. At about 15 minutes in would be fine.
Keep your heat low & slow. When the liquid levels get low, add more stock (even if it's more than what's recommended). When the rice is done, taste and season with salt level to your taste buds. If you're as crazy about Risotto as I am, you can easily double the recipe!
Buon Appetito!
What you'll need:
1 cup of Arborio rice
2 cans of chicken broth
1 small onion – minced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 jar of roasted red bell peppers – chopped into bite size pieces
salt
What to do:
Pour olive oil into sauce pan & heat over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions, stir & saute until slightly translucent. Once onions are translucent, add rice & mix thoroughly until rice is coated well with onion & oil mixture.
Stir constantly so as not to burn your rice or onions. When rice is sufficiently coated add in about 1/4 can of chicken broth. Stir constantly! It is very important to not leave this unattended. Once chicken broth has reduced add more broth. Continue this process until both cans of your broth have been added. This process will take about 30 minutes.
At about 20 minutes into the cooking process add in your chopped roasted red bell peppers. Once your rice is creamy and soft to the taste it is ready! Take off of heat & add butter, stir, taste & add salt if necessary. Serve immediately.
Buon Appetito!