Risotto with radicchio

 

Sauté a small chopped onion with olive oil until translucent, then add chopped radicchio and a pinch of salt. Keep stirring. 

When the radicchio is soft and your Italian ancestors whisper to you that the time is right, add the rice. If you don’t have Italian ancestors then gently sauté the radicchio for about ten minutes, or until you lose the bitterness but not the taste. Add vegetable stock little by little until the risotto is ready. Adjust with salt and pepper five minutes before the end. It tastes great with a drop of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, if you have it.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Red Beetroot risotto with Parmigiano Reggiano and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, step by step

   This is a super risotto, I am so proud of it!! I made the recipe many years ago for a magazine but I used shaved Parmigiano, but I think that cut into chunks is better. Start like for all good risottos, with plenty of butter and a chopped onion (I used a red one to keep the colour scheme!).

When the onion sizzle add the rice (I used arborio) and stir well: for a good risotto the fat at the beginning is important so make sure that the rice absorbs well the butter. Make really hot to the touch. 

Boil and peeled three small/medium beetroots (or a very large one) and cut into cubes.

Add the cubes to the rice and stir until hot. Remember that the rice has to be hot before you add the stock!

Add the stock (vegetable in my case) ladle by ladle, and stir often, adding more stock when needed.

The risotto is ready! Wow, look at the colour!

Cut the Parimigiano Reggiano into small chunks with a Parmigiano knife. Get your Balsamic ready: this is a 25 years old Tradizionale, truly spectacular!

Dish the risotto, add the Parmigiano and a drizzle of Balsamico.

This was just amazing!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Christmas Fruit Platter with Balsamic

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena goes well with fruit, and there is also a Balsamic cream you can buy which is less expensive and ideal to decorate plates.

 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Balsamic glazed onions - Cipolline con Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena

These lovely and aromatic little onions can be served hot or cold, as an antipasto or side vegetable.

I should have used little Italian flat onions, like the borrettane, but they don't sell them in NZ so I used some normal pickling onions. Peel the onions, soak in water for two hours, drain and then cook very slowly with a dollop of salted butter, a few fresh sage leaves and a pinch of salt for a long long time. I cooked them in a Le Creuset pot, with the lid on, stirring often. Check to see if you need to add just a little water half way through, but personally I didn't need it, mostly they cooked in their own steam (Le Creuset pots have great lids!!) and they caramelized a little too, becoming sweet and fragrant. All in all they took about 2 hours. Once they were cooked I turned the element off and added a drizzle of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio (25 year old), covered them again with the lid, and let them rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Popular variations include adding cloves, or grilling the onions instead of simmering them (obviously the flat onions are easier to grill than the round pickling onions!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Pears, Rocket and Parmesan Salad with Extravecchio Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

At the Festival Italiano I received a very special present from Naomi of Aceto Downunder: a bottle of ABTM (Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena), the extra vecchio (25 years +). This Balsamico is the real thing, only sold in specially designed 100ml bottles, expensive but worth it, every drop of it.

The first thing I made was this classic Italian salad: Rocket leaves (fresh from my veggie garden), shaved Parmesan, thin slices of crunchy pears, and a drizzle of ABTM. This salad is absolutely delicious, and perfect as an entree or a sophisticated yet easy and light summer main course. Thank you Naomi!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Miniatura di frutta con Aceto Balsamico di Modena e petali - Fruit miniature with Modena Balsamic and cherry blossoms

I like small things, even my food I prefer it small.  I like small plates with small tastings, miniature bites, doll houses' type of things... and this month's MT Challenge gave me a chance to go for small again. The theme was fruit salad (with some rules to follow on cutting, sauces and so on), something that I have no problems with really, as I love fruit salads! 

I went a bit 'Japanese' this time because the fruit that is often served at the end of formal Japanese meals is great to look at: small amounts, the presentation as important as for any other course, and as simple as possible. 

For the dressing I used some Aceto Tradiozionale Balsamico di Modena, not to be confused with Aceto Balsamico di Modena (they are two different products) and it goes well with all the fruit used here, including bananas. And to accompany, no ice-cream or similar, but I dared to be different and went for fresh petals... if you choose them go for pink, cherry or peach, and yes, they can also be dipped in the ABTM and eaten,  I did it (but I don't know many other people who regularly eat flowers like I do :-).

Ingredients:

for each person:

2 slices of banana (sprayed with a little lemon juice)

2 small balls scooped from a kiwi (green)

2 raspberries

2 small balls scooped from a kiwi gold (yellow)

1 tsp ABTM

cherry or peach petals

The utensils: a knife, a little scoop for the kiwis,  a flower cutter for the banana (I used a Japanese one for cutting vegetables like flowers), small bamboo skewers. To assemble just look at the pictures. Serve with the ABTM.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©