Original Recipe Courtesy of @AnnaRossiOfficial
This recipe comes from the mountains of Abruzzo, Italy. Years ago, AJ and I went on a truffle hunt on a frigid Spring day with a man named Pasquale and his hound, Ruby. After a mildly successful hunt, we ended up at his mysterious storage space armed with surveillance and hundreds of thousands of dollars of truffles in all forms. He sent us home with a few black truffles and a jar of "Salsa Tartufo" which is the flavor weapon in this sensational dish. Every time I make risotto, I'm always humbled at the creamy, velvety texture a humble grain of rice will yield. To me it is proof that technique, attention and love are just important as the bare ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
10 cups low sodium vegetable stock, or 5 bouillon cubes dissolved into 10 cups of water
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup shallot, minced (about 1 small shallot)
2 cups Arborio rice
80 grams “Salsa Tartufo” aka minced truffle sauce like this
Parmigiano, shredded for garnish
Micro greens, for garnish (optional)
PREPARATION
Bring 10 cups of stock to a gentle simmer in a medium pot and keep covered over low heat.
Over medium low heat in a wide heavy bottomed pot, add extra virgin olive oil and shallot. Gently sweat the shallot 1-2 minutes until you can see steam release and the shallot starts to become translucent.
Add dry Arborio rice to the pot and stir into the extra virgin olive oil and shallot mixture. Stir for about 2 minutes until a translucent ring forms around the grains of rice.
Begin adding the stock, ladle by ladle so there is always about ½” of stock covering the rice. With a wooden spoon, stir continuously to activate and release the starch from the grains of rice.
Add ½ the jar of Salsa Tartufo to cook with the risotto.
Continue topping the risotto mixture off with stock as the grain begins to absorb the liquid, keeping about ½” to 1” above the risotto.
The risotto will take about 20 minutes or so to cook. When the rice is nearly cooked through to your liking, stop adding stock and allow the rice to absorb the liquid so it is not too soupy. You may have a little stock left unused and that’s ok.
Take the risotto off the heat and stir in the remainder of the Salsa Tartufo. Serve hot, garnished with shredded parmigiano and micro greens.
