Marta's Amarone Risotto

My recipe for Amarone Risotto is simple and pleases everybody. We don't want any compromises here; you have to use top quality basic ingredients: Valpolicella Amarone and rice from Verona which can only be Vialone Nano and then it has to be stirred into a creamy texture with a local cheese, mature Monte Veronese, made from cow's milk in the mountains north of Verona. You have to have patience, passion and a good wooden mixing spoon! So here's my family recipe and my secrets.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 320 gr of Vialone Nano rice
• 1/"2 bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella
• 60 gr of finely chopped shallots (if you can't get these, onions  will do)
• 40 gr of butter
• 50 gr of extra virgin olive oil
• 1lt of liquid beef stock
• 60 gr of grated mature Monte Veronese cheese (parmesan cheese will do)

It's really easy to prepare this recipe!

Pour the wine into a small saucepan and heat it to let a bit of the alcohol evaporate and to concentrate the flavors.

Put the shallots that you've previously chopped up into a big casserole dish along with the oil, half the butter, a bit of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. If you like that fresh taste of aromatic herbs, you can add a laurel leaf or some rosemary remembering to take them out before you add the rice. Cook the mix over a low heat until the shallots turn a golden colour. Put in the rice continuing to stir and toast it for a few minutes.

Then turn up the heat and slowly pour the Amarone into the casserole dish. When the wine has been absorbed, continue cooking with the liquid beef stock, one spoonful at a time, until the risotto is "al dente" but still tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining butter and grated cheese to obtain a delicious creamy texture.

Variations on the classic recipe

As an alternative you might like to add to the risotto one of the many traditional Verona ingredients:

• Amarone Risotto with Pumpkin
• Amarone Risotto with Red Verona Radicchio

Brown the pumpkin or radicchio separately and add them to the casserole dish before the rice.

Pairings

The ideal pairing is with the same wine. Amarone della Valpolicella. But if you prefer a lighter pairing, you can use another famous Valpolicella wine such as Ripasso or Valpolicella Superiore!