Pecorino & Balsamic Risotto / Random Recipes #25

I loved Two Greedy Italians when it was on TV last year, Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo are hilarious together and made us laugh every week. With this in mind, after reading that Dom at Belleau Kitchen is celebrating his third year of the Random Recipe Challenge, I decided to use the Two Greedy Italians for my entry into this months challenge.

 
Usually both the book and recipe should be chosen at random but this month we are allowed to choose the book before selecting the recipe at random. My book fell open on 'Risotto Con Pecorino, Olio E Aceto Balsamico' (or, for the rest of you, Risotto with Pecorino and Balsamic Vinegar). I was very pleased because this recipe is one I'd looked at previously and its simplicity really appealed to me.

Ingredients, serves 4:

• 1.5 litres vegetable stock
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/2 small onion, very finely chopped
• 350g arborio risotto rice
• 50ml white wine
• 80g pecorino cheese, freshly grated plus extra to serve
• Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Method: 

• Put the stock in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave over a low heat.
• Heat two tbsp oil in a medium sized saucepan (I used my trusty frying pan) and sweat the onion until soft. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated with oil, then add the wine and stir until it evaporates.
• Add a couple of ladlefuls of stock and cook, stirring all the time, until it has been absorbed.
• Repeat with more stock,  and continue in this way until the rice is cooked al dente, which usually takes about 20 mins.
• Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 
• Remove from the heat and beat in the pecorino and remaining olive oil with a wooden spoon. Leave to rest for a minute and then divide between 4 plates. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with some more pecorino before serving.

This risotto was really creamy and very tasty. We weren't sure how the balsamic vinegar would taste but it actually worked well, cutting through the richness of the cheese. For such a simple dish, this was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it again. It felt like very authentic Italian cooking. I've blogged about Two Greedy Italians before - here's my post on their handmade sausages with pepper sauce.