During our recent honeymoon trip to Italy we were lucky to be able to explore many different cities in Italy. One of our stops was Florence where we spent a full day touring around. (We learned that one day is definitely too short for Florence, especially when you spent half of the day in Uffizi museum) Before we had to catch the train to go back to Montaione we came across an Italian delicacy store that sold a lot of Italian food items such as olive oil, cheese, salami, wine, Italian treats, etc. Like most tourists Ayoe and I ended up spending quite a bit of time in the store trying out the different samples. We left the store with a few souvenirs to bring back to Canada. One of the items that we purchased was risotto with rose and strawberries. Both of us love risotto so we were very intrigued by the rose and strawberry flavour. How would this work? How would it taste? We simply had to find out!
We followed the instructions on the package. It was basically the usual cooking instruction for risotto:
1. In a pan heat the stock. In a separate pan add olive oil, butter, add onions, garlic, and celery and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring.
2. Add risotto rice and turn up the heat.
3. Continue stirring and once rice becomes slightly translucent, add white wine and keep stirring.
4. Turn down the heat, continue stirring.
5. Add small amount of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to simmer. Continue stirring and adding small amount of stock each time.
6. Cook until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is al dente. If you need more liquid you can add water. This should take about 20 – 30 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and add butter and Parmesan cheese. Stir well, place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes.
What’s the verdict? Well The rose and strawberries added an interesting taste in the risotto but it was somewhat annoying to having to spit out the rose petals since they were too hard to eat. The rest tasted good and it was definitely worth the effort! We still have another package of risotto from Italy (radish flavour) that we’re saving for another special evening.
Have you tried different flavours of risotto? What is your favourite?
Such an unusual, adventurous flavor for risotto! I would never think of combining the two in a savory dish, but I’d certainly try it at least once. My standard approach is very simple- Lightly caramelized onions, asparagus, and green peas.
It was a very special flavour. You can also try asparagus, lemon juice and parmesan cheese, most delightful!