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10/01/2001 Archived Entry: "Roasted Red Pepper Risotto"

Have you ever had a food craving that seems to come from out of nowhere? Usually I am a pasta person. Even when I am visiting a risotto region of Italy, a rice-growing region like the Veneto, I am torn between ordering pasta and ordering risotto. I think I should eat risotto because it is a specialty of the area, but usually I would rather eat pasta.

So where did my recent craving for risotto come from? The only thing I can think of is that I was given a gift of particularly fine rice recently, a bag of artisinally produced Vialone Nano, which is not a brand of rice, but one of the three types of Italian short-grain rice that are used to make risotto.

Italian rice is particularly suited to risotto. Or, I should say, Italians developed the risotto technique because of the particular qualities of their short-grain rice. All three types have a starchy coating that, when braised - cooked in fat, then liquid - becomes creamy, while still allowing the starchy core of the grain to remain firm. To make risotto, you cook the rice briefly in butter or oil, then let it simmer in liquid that is gradually added to the pot. The result is a creamy mass of individual, still-firm grains. Risotto should not be hard, but the rice should be al dente, like pasta, with a slight chewiness.

Arborio is the most well-known Italian rice and the easiest to obtain. It makes fine risotto. I have been using it with pleasure since I discovered risotto 30-something years ago. At that time, Arborio was all there was in the U.S. Nowadays it is not difficult to find the other two types. Vialone Nano has a starchier surface than Arborio and therefore makes a creamier risotto. Carnaroli is the choice of restaurant chefs because it is the most forgiving. It doesn’t go from firm to soft as quickly as the others and it therefore can be held half-cooked in the kitchen until someone orders a plate of risotto. Vialone Nano and Carnaroli are available in fine Italian markets (and on the internet), too. Both are more expensive than Arborio, Carnaroli being the most expensive.

Allora … anyway … I was not only craving some risotto, but a risotto made with sweet red peppers. That’s an easy craving to explain: The market is full of colored peppers and I like to eat my fill while I can. I’ve already made peperonata several times, eating it with bread, with pasta, with scrambled eggs, and I’ve also made Sautéed Peppers with Olives several times, Neapolitan-style stuffed peppers (you can find a recipe in Naples At Table), and I’ve roasted peppers … Well, who can count? Risotto with roasted peppers just seemed of the moment this weekend.

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto
I am presenting this recipe as two recipes within the one recipe because, I realized after I devised it, that the sauce itself can be used for purposes other than this risotto. Make it separately and use it as a pasta sauce: I would select a tubular pasta, like penne or ziti, or maybe shells for fun, or even a big tube like rigatoni, any shape that will catch the pieces of pepper. Or use the sauce for a steak or a hamburger, or sliced leg of lamb, or a fillet piece of fish. I would think it goes especially well with a dark-fleshed fish, such as tuna or mackerel. If you care to, you could puree the sauce. Or, I suppose you could also use the sauce as a base for a soup. You may want to double it or triple it in that case. I might puree only a portion, thin it out only a little with light chicken broth, then stir in the remaining chunky sauce. Garnish with basil or a dab of pesto.

For the pepper and tomato sauce:
2 large red and/or yellow peppers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 medium onion, finely minced (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 or 6 fresh plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Big pinch hot red pepper flakes
Several leaves of fresh basil, torn or snipped with a scissors

For the risotto:
1/2 medium onion, finely minced (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups Arborio, Vialone Nano or Carnaroli rice
1 quart light chicken broth (canned, low-salt broth, diluted by half is good)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Several leaves of fresh basil, torn or snipped with a scissors

To make the sauce, first roast the peppers:
Place the peppers over an open gas flame and rotate them gradually and occasionally until they are black and/or blistered all over. Place the peppers in a covered pot or bowl, or a paper or plastic bag for at least 15 minutes, until slightly cooled and steamed somewhat. With the help of a small knife, scrape off the skin and all bits of char. Cut the peppers open over a small bowl, so you can reserve any of the liquid that comes out. Core and seed the peppers. Trim off the ribs inside, which are now quite soft.

Cut the peppers into 1/2-inch strips, then cut the strips crosswise into 1/2-inch dice.

In a medium saucepan, combine the onion and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion until it is tender and golden, about 8 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the hot red pepper flakes. Simmer for 8 minutes, until the tomatoes cook into a sauce.

Add the diced peppers, and any reserved pepper juices, and simmer minutes. (You may make this ahead, if desired.)

To make the risotto, combine the onion and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Over medium heat, sauté the onion until tender, about 8 minutes.

Add the rice and stirring constantly over medium heat, cook the rice for 2 to 3 minutes, until all the grains look very opaque.

Add about 3/4 cup of the hot chicken broth and, with a wooden spoon, stir it into the rice. When the broth evaporates, add just enough additional broth to barely cover the rice. Continue stirring and simmering briskly until the broth reduces to below the surface line of the rice. Keep stirring and adding broth a little at a time. Total cooking time for risotto should be about 18 minutes from the time the first measure of broth is added. After about 10 minutes, when about half the broth should have been incorporated into the rice, add the pepper and tomato sauce about a cup or less at a time, as you did the broth. When all the sauce has been used, continue using the broth. At the end, if you still need more liquid to cook the rice to the proper consistency, use plain water.

When the rice is cooked through, but still slightly too firm to the bite, it is done. Stir in the grated cheese and the basil. If your broth was very lightly salted, you may want to add a little more salt. You can add freshly ground black pepper at this point, or pass the peppermill at the table, or top each portion with freshly ground pepper. Let the risotto stand about 3 minutes before serving. The addition of more grated cheese at the table is up to your taste, but I find too much cheese blunts the flavor of the peppers.