Recipe: Garden Vegetable Risotto

Autumn is a great time to visit Tuscany. The summer crowds are gone, and the opportunity to leisurely explore this magnificent region through the eyes of the locals gives you a more authentic glimpse of Italian life. But if you can’t travel to Tuscany this year, try the next best thing: an easy and delicious recipe straight from the medieval Tuscan village of Montefollonico as provided by Tuscan Women Cook, the premier culinary immersion vacation.

Garden Vegetable Risotto / Risotto dell’Orto
Makes 6 – 8 servings

Ingredients

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1 small zucchini
10 Valerian leaves (optional)
10 green asparagus tips
10 basil leaves finely chopped
4 tender spinach leaves
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
White pepper

Vegetable stock:
2 small zucchinis, quartered
2 Swiss chard leaves
Asparagus spears, without tips, peeled
Salt

Directions

Vegetable stock:
Place the zucchini, Swiss chard leaves, and asparagus spears in a saucepan with 4 pints of salted water, and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. This vegetable stock is the cooking liquid for making the risotto and should be prepared first. Keep it simmering constantly.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion for 3 minutes. Add all the vegetables and sweat them over low heat. After 10 minutes, add the rice and stir until it becomes translucent.

Add the vegetable stock a little at a time, stirring continuously. After about 18 minutes, add the chopped herbs.

When the rice reaches al dente stage, take it off the heat, taste and correct for salt. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish with a few zucchini slices and serve at once.

ABOUT TUSCAN WOMEN COOK

Coleen Kirnan and Rhonda Vilardo are two inventive business dynamos who decided to take a career risk that changed their lives.  In 2016, they took over Tuscan Women Cook, a unique culinary immersion vacation where participants learn to cook authentic Italian meals from legendary women in the Tuscan village of Montefollonico. In spring and fall each year, Coleen and Rhonda welcome guests from around the world to live, breathe, and cook as Italians do.

For more information on Coleen and Rhonda, go to www.TuscanWomenCook.com.