The word “risotto” comes from “riso” which means rice in Italian. This typical Italian dish elaborated from rice with a creamy base has become popular around the world and almost as accepted as pasta. Autumn gives us products that are ideal for making delicious risotto. Therefore, today we propose an autumn risotto that includes a pairing proposal, this time with Cava. Cava will be the perfect company to underline a complexity of flavours of this dish where the autumn product par excellence stands out: mushrooms..
The texture of the risotto is creamy because it incorporates butter or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, also known as parmesan cheese. To prepare a good risotto, a semi-hard rice such as arbóreo rice or carnaroli is preferable (the latter being the most starchy). Both are produced in Italy and are commonly used to make risotto. Its grains are large and have a high level of starch. This type of rice will be moist and creamy after cooking.
One of the keys is to stir it constantly so that the rice slowly absorbs the liquid in which it is cooked. And the beauty of risotto is that it is creamy, and when the rice grains are rubbed together, the starch is released, which in turn will bind the cooking liquid. The way to cook it is similar in all cases, but we will adapt the ingredients depending on the type of risotto we choose. Today we are betting on the mushroom and truffle risotto.
The ingredients we will use will be:
ELABORATION
We wash and chop onion and garlic cloves. Heat the butter in a wide saucepan until it melts and sauté the onion and garlic. Meanwhile, we will wash the mushrooms, chop them, and add them to the frying pan. We can use mushrooms such as shiitake but also other seasonal ones. We add a pinch of salt.
We let it cook over medium fire and allow the mushrooms to release all the water. Then we add the rice and stir it with a wooden spoon. We stir slowly until it absorbs the oil and has a light colour. Then we can add the 200 ml of white wine and let the fire evaporate the alcohol.
Later we add the hot broth almost to the point of boiling, the broth has to lightly cover the rice. Cooking the rice takes approximately 20-25 minutes. We should make sure to add broth as it is absorbed so that the texture of the rice is creamy. Finally, we will grate the truffle and add it to the rice in thin slices.
Once the rice has acquired a creamy consistency and with the grains still a little hard, we will remove it from the heat, add the grated Parmesan cheese and a little butter, stir it and let it rest for two or three minutes. Finally, we remove it from the heat and garnish with fresh chopped parsley or chives.
PAIRING WITH A CAVA RESERVA
And far from thinking that cava is reserved only for celebrations, we can pair this dish with a delicious, fresh and silky cava that will enhance the flavour of the risotto. We will pair it with Cava Castell d’Or Brut Imperial, a premium cava that will work perfectly with the creaminess of the rice and the intensity of the truffle. It brings freshness and balance to a dish that is already complex in flavours: cheese, mushrooms, and truffle.
Castell d’Or Brut Imperial is a very fine and elegant cava with fine bubbles, very well-integrated acidity, with a long and persistent aftertaste, which will surprise you with a combination of the freshness of a fruit and complexity flavour that results from long aging. This cava can be found in our network of wine and cava agroshops throughout Catalonia and also in our online store.
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