SERVES: 6-8
COOKING TIME: 50 minutes
Ingredients
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth or water
450g carrots
1 cup carrot juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons COPPOLA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 finely chopped yellow onion
3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
Sea salt, to season
Black pepper, to season
2 cups FONTANA Formiello Farro (about 350 g)
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon of lemon juice and zest
1 cup Parmesan cheese (about 85 g), grated
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, or pesto for garnish
Method
• Pour all broth into a small saucepan and warm over a very low heat. Finely grate ¼ of the carrots. Dice the remaining carrots and puree with the carrot juice until very smooth, for about 30 seconds. Set the mixture aside.
• Melt butter and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, cumin and grated carrots. When it starts to foam, turn down the heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
• Move the polenta to frying pan and top with mushroom, tomatoes, thyme and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining oil. Transfer to oven and leave bake for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes soften and cheese has melted. Serve still hot garnished with rocket.
• While decreasing heat to medium-low, stir in the carrot puree and cook until bubbling. Add 1 cup broth and simmer, stirring, until the broth is nearly absorbed. Continue adding broth until it is almost all absorbed, the grain is al dente and the risotto has a porridge-like consistency with a creamy-looking sauce. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes.
• At this point, if the grains are not tender, add 1 cup more liquid and cook until almost entirely absorbed. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover and set aside to rest a few minutes. Once ready, remove from heat, add cheese, half of parsley and lemon zest and stir.
• To serve, drizzle risotto with olive oil and garnish with black pepper, remaining parsley or a spoon of pesto.
