Pear and Gorgonzola Risotto Recipe
I love a good risotto, and you can almost always guarantee that you have some ingredients to rustle something up in your store cupboard. This pear, walnut, and gorgonzola risotto is based on a dish from the Lombardy region of Italy, and don't worry of you don't have the right cheese, you can sub it for your favourite blue cheese.
Servings 2 Servings
Calories 903kcal
Ingredients
- 125 g Risotto Rice ⅔ Cup
- 1 Medium Echalion or Banana Shallot 50g
- 1 Large Conference Pear 250g
- 35 g Walnut Halves ¼ Cup
- 65 g Butter ½ Stick
- 125 ml Dry White Wine ½ Cup
- 500-650 ml Vegetable Stock 2-2½ Cups
- 125 g Gorgonzola Cheese 1¼ Cups
- 35 g Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese ½ Cup
- Salt as Required
- 5-6 Sage leaves
Instructions
- Cut the shallot in half, peel it and then dice it as finely as you can.
- Heat the vegetable stock in a small 15-17cm (6-7") saucepan.
- Peel the pear, cut it in half, and scoop out the core. Then take 6 thin (2-3mm or ⅛") slices from the centre of the pear, plunge them into cold acidulated water and set aside. Cut the remaining bits of pear into 1cm (just under ½") pieces and set them aside in a second bowl of acidulated water.
- Roughly chop the walnut halves.
- Heat a 25cm or 10" frying pan over a medium-low heat, and when it is hot, add 25g of the butter. When the butter begins to foam, add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes without adding any colour.
- Add the risotto rice and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, or until the edges of the rice begin to become opaque.
- Pour in the white wine, and stir until almost all of it has evaporated or been absorbed. A starchy residue should start to form at the base of the pan.
- Have a taste of the stock before you get started, and add salt if you think it needs it. Add a ladle of the hot vegetable stock to the pan and stir again until almost all of the stock has been absorbed and you have a similar white starchy residue in the base of the pan. Repeat until the rice has the tiniest of "bites" but is very nearly cooked. This will be around 23-27 minutes.
- Drain the diced pear and add it to the almost-cooked risotto along with the gorgonzola cheese and chopped walnuts, stir and cook for 2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Remove the pan from the heat, toss in another 25g of butter, and sprinkle over the parmesan cheese. Add a lid and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Whilst the risotto is resting, heat a second frying pan over a high-medium heat and add the last 15g of butter. Drain and dry the pear slices and fry them until nicely coloured, then flip and fry the second side.
- Whilst the second side is cooking, finely shred the sage leaves and toss them into the pan.
- Return to the resting risotto and stir to combine the butter and parmesan cheese.
- Serve the risotto topped with the fried sage and pear slices.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 903kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 2165mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 17g
