Red Pepper Risotto
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and we wanted to share a few of our favorites if you’re choosing a date night at home. A beautifully easy and festive dish for a date night at home. Recipe is written as vegetarian but could easily be jazzed up with some shrimp, salmon, halibut or chicken. Recipe is meant for four but can easily be halved for two!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 jars roasted red bell peppers (12 oz jars, drained)
5-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot minced
Kosher salt
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
To Serve:
1 cup arugula
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Grated Parmesan
Black pepper
Directions:
In a blender or food processor, blend the drained peppers until smooth.
In a large saucepan, whisk together broth and pepper puree. Heat over medium and cover until ready to use.
Heat butter in a large skillet and over medium heat. Add shallots. Sauté́ until slightly starting to become translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp salt. Add garlic cook for 30 more seconds. Add rice to pan, stirring frequently so rice can start to slightly toast.
Very slowly, pour 2 cups of broth mixture into the rice. Add 1 tsp of salt, pepper, paprika and stir. Simmer over a medium low heat until rice absorbs the liquid. Continue adding broth, 1-2 ladles at a time until rice is fully cooked. Stir in Parmesan cheese, adjust salt and pepper if needed and remove the pan from the heat.
In a small bowl, combine the arugula with lemon juice and a few teaspoons of olive oil. Gently massage arugula to coat but don’t overwork.
To serve, plate risotto. Top with small handful of dressed arugula. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan and a few cracks of black pepper.