Prosecco DOC risotto with Lemon, Thyme and Pecorino cheese

Gently fry the chopped onion in a small casserole dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 10-15 minutes on low heat. Fry until the onions turn golden and caramelised. Keep to one side.

In a large casserole dish, start to toast the rice on a low heat with a pinch of salt, without adding oil or fat. This way, the heat reaches the core of each rice grain resulting in a more al dente rice. Keep stirring the rice, so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or burn. When the rice is very hot, pour 150ml of the Prosecco DOC in. Let the alcohol evaporate, set the cooking time to 15 minutes and then add simmering stock a ladle at a time, little by little. Stir the rice occasionally, and keep cooking.

Halfway through the cooking, add the caramelised onion to the rice.

Once the time is up, if you’re happy with the texture remove it from the heat.

The next step is called “mantecatura” – with the right movements you can make the risotto creamier and increase its natural ooziness.

Add the zest of 1 lemon, the Pecorino cheese, the Grana Padano and butter to the rice. Pour in rest of the Prosecco, the juice of 1 lemon and stir with energy to incorporate extra air until the risotto is nice and creamy. Season to taste.

Plate the hot risotto straight away and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

Recipe by Danilo Cortellini

Tips

If you have to feed more than four people, I would advise buying a whole wheel of Pecorino cheese so that you can carve out a bowl from half of it and use it to serve the risotto in a magnificently rustic away. Tuscan Pecorino cheese is the sweetest and is perfect for this recipe. A whole wheel is about 2 kg.