Red Bell Pepper and Robiola Risotto

Name: Red Bell Pepper and Robiola Risotto
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Red peppers 4.3 cups; Robiola cheese 7.1 oz; Carnaroli rice 1.7 cups; Onions About 1/4 cup (chopped) 0.3 cup; Thyme to taste; Rice vinegar 2 spoonfuls; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Sebastian Fitarau

Sweet red peppers are cooked and blended into a smooth, vividly colored cream before they ever meet the rice—a single step that gives this Red Bell Pepper and Robiola Risotto its depth of color and a flavor that leans sweet without tipping over. The result looks considered without being complicated, and the pepper cream does most of the work.

The finishing move is robiola, a soft fresh cheese added in two stages during the mantecatura: half stirred into the rice off the heat, half spooned on top as a garnish. Its gentle acidity is the counterweight the sweet pepper cream needs, and the split technique means you get richness inside the risotto and a bright, tangy note on top—creamy and balanced all the way through.

How to prepare Red Bell Pepper and Robiola Risotto

To prepare the red bell pepper and robiola risotto, clean the peppers and cut them in half 1, remove the stem, seeds and internal membranes 2, then cut them into strips 3.

Trim and thinly slice the onion 4. In a pan pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (about 1 tbsp), add the onion 5 and sweat it over low heat. Add the peppers 6.

Season with salt 7 and cook with a ladle of hot water (about 1/2 cup / 4 fl oz) 8 until they are soft, well browned and fully wilted; this will take about 15 minutes. When cooked, transfer them to the tall blender jug 9.

Blend them with an immersion blender 10 until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous cream and set it aside. In a saucepan pour the rice 11, season and dry-toast the rice for a couple of minutes 12.

Cook, moistening the rice with a ladle of hot water at a time (about 1/2 cup / 4 fl oz) 13, stirring as needed. Add the bell pepper cream to the rice after 10 minutes 14 and continue cooking 15, adding the hot water little by little. The rice cooks in about 18 minutes in total.

Smooth half of the amount of robiola with a ladle of hot water (about 1/2 cup / 4 fl oz) 16 17; you should obtain a smooth cream that will be used to garnish the plates. With the heat off, finish the risotto with a drizzle of oil (about 1 tbsp) and the remaining robiola 18.