Balsamic Roasted Red Pepper Risotto and Giveaway
Dan 
What you’ll need…
2 cups half and half cream
4 cups chicken broth (or veggie to keep vegetarian-friendly)
3 roasted red bell peppers (approx. 1 cup)
1/2 bulb roasted garlic
2 TBSP butter (softened)
1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups arborio rice
salt and pepper
olive oil
fresh parsley (for garnish, optional)
I just finished filming two segments for Food Network Canada’s series ‘Eat St.’ these past couple of days. It was a lot of fun, I got to talk about two of my favourite food trucks (Alley Burger and Perogy Boys), but two days of shooting in cold fall weather, with rain to boot, has officially chilled me to the bone! Damn…fall really is here now…
Well, what better way to warm up then with a creamy risotto? The thing some people don’t like about risotto is all the stirring you have to do, but when you’re looking to shake the chilly, then standing by the stove, spooning (not that kind of spooning) a hot pan for thiry minutes couldn’t really be all that bad, right?
If you’ve ever made risotto before, you’ll know that it comes off a lot more intimidating then it actually is. Hell, we even make risotto in my Start From Scratch class. If those kids can do it, you can do it! Anyway, onto the cooking…Start off by putting the cream and stock into a medium-sized pot, then let come to a simmer on high heat. Once it starts to bubble, reduce to low heat, you just need the broth hot, not boiling. While you’re waiting for that to heat up, puree the roasted bell peppers, roasted garlic and butter using a blender or food processor. We’ll add thisat the end of the risotto cooking process, so better to have it ready and waiting now!
Now, drizzle some olive oil in a large pan, throw in the chopped onion and garlic and let cook on medium-high heat until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced byhalf, about 5 more minutes. Now, pour in the arborio rice, stirring until everything is evenly mixed. Let the mixture cook for another couple minutes before you start adding the broth.
This is where all the stirring comes in, you don’t really need to stir with religious conviction for the next 25 minutes, but be attentive and stir regularly. Add-in one ladle of broth at a time, letting the liquid become almost completely absorbed before adding more broth. Continue this process until you’ve used up all of the broth. Finally, stir in the roasted pepper puree and watch your risotto turn a beautiful orange-reddish hue. How autumn, right? Season with a bit of salt and pepper and dish out. Warm up by the mouthful!
Serves 4-5
Total cook time…40 min
As an added bonus today, The Rocky Mountain Wine And Food Festival is taking place this weekend in Calgary. The festival showcases amazing wines, spirits, as well as great food from local restaurants. Since I love to share, I’m giving away two sets of double passes to attend this event this Friday night, October 14th (doors open at 4 p.m.).
To enter to win one of the double passes simply share my recipe on twitter (mentioning myself, @dansgoodside and the festival, @rockywinefood), or leave a comment in the thread below. You have until Thursday night, October 13th, at 11PM to enter the contest. I’ll announce the lucky winners on Friday morning! Good luck!
Click here for full details on this festival.
15 Comments to “Balsamic Roasted Red Pepper Risotto and Giveaway”
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What a nice color indeed! I do need some warming up today
Looks totally fab – red peppers would be great in risotto!
I NEED TO WINNNNNNNN
Looks great and congrats on being a big tv star!
Thinking of making the recipe this week – will let you know what I think
Risotto looks amazing and can’t wait to see the Food Network spots.
I like risotto a lot and the best thing about this is I have most, if not all the ingredients at home! Thanks for the dinner idea.
looks great, never made risotto before, but i think i’ll give this a try!
The risotto looks so tasty! I always thought it was intimidating, but your recipe looks simple enough for even a beginner chef like myself to follow! Thanks for the wonderful idea!
Never made a risotto before. I think this will be my first one!
Never seen balsamic in a risotto before, excited to give it a go! Yum!
I love risotto when its done properly, and I love red pepper. This looks delicious! I might have to try this sometime
Wow, that recipe looks fantastic! Will definitely be sharing this one around. Risotto is always great, but a roasted red pepper version sounds divine!
Thanks for the great contest and wonderful recipe! I would love to attend the festival!
Mmmmm … the risotto looks absolutely delicious. I’ve been intimidated to make risotto (thanks to certain cooking shows that makes it sound difficult) but I am willing to give your recipe a shot!
[...] and pepper olive oil I know I already posted a risotto recipe a few weeks ago, but this recipe was for a special occasion. I’ll give you the ’coles [...]