What is the best quality of rice? Carnaroli, the King Of Rice - with its medium grain, the rice comes from Pavia, Novara and Vercelli in the north of Italy. It is this very variety of rice that retains its shape while still having a high starch content. Ideal for risottos, but also perfect for salads, soups, soups, cakes, timbales, supplì, arancini and desserts. In the provincial town Novara, Italy has green fields as far as the eye can see, dead straight paths that cut through the areas where rice is mainly grown. In this area, a company is celebrating its tenth anniversary that has done a lot to establish Italian rice as a quality product in international gourmet circles. Cristina Brizzolari wanted to produce “Riso Buono”, or simply “good rice”, when she started learning to grow rice a little more than ten years ago as a complete outsider with no previous agricultural knowledge. Today her rice is served in the restaurants of top chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Ducasse, Niko Romito and Heinz Beck, and she made it to the legendary “Le Bernardin” in New York.
Ten years ago Cristina Brizzolari had a real estate sales company in Rome and London, she divided her time between the banks of the Tiber and the Thames and above all she was a lover of pasta. When she could take a break she ran to the seaside, not being a lover of the countryside. It's easy to imagine the state of mind when her father-in-law Luigi Guidobono Cavalchini asked her to take care of the renovation of the old family farmhouse in Casalbeltrame, near Novara, among expanses of rice fields as far as the eye can see. Thus began the adventure of Riso Buono, the most loved rice by starred chefs all over the world in its unmistakable glass container. With passion and competence she manages the La Mondina agricultural company owned by the Luigi Guidobono Cavalchini family.
Riso Buono Carnaroli Gran Riserva is rice that ages untreated for one year; this Ageing process was already known and extensively used in ancient times. In fact, after drying, rice still has to acquire all its top-quality characteristics. Rice, when aged and stored with care, greatly increases in size and this reduces the dispersion of starch and minerals during cooking. The grains of our Carnaroli Gran Riserva do not stick during cooking and keep their shape and resist over-cooking.
Risotto alla crema di scampi con Carnaroli
Ingredients:
Carnaroli rice 320 g; Scampi 1.2 kg; Extra virgin olive oil 50 g; Shallot 60 g; Garlic 1 clove; Salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; fresh liquid cream 45 g; Lemons 1; Thyme to taste
For the Shellfish broth:
Shallot 40 g; Brandy (Anisette) 30 g; Extra virgin olive oil 30 g; Parsley 1 sprig; Water 1.2 l; Scampi heads and shells; Garlic 1 clove; Peppercorns to taste; Coarse salt to taste; Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Preparation:
To prepare the scampi cream risotto, start by cleaning the scampi. First, remove the heads, then using scissors, cut the belly part and delicately extract the carcass. Remove the dark stringy part on the back, i.e. the intestine, with pliers. At this point, keep the pulp aside and use the scraps to prepare the shellfish stock, which will be used for cooking the risotto. Cut the shallot into slices and pour it together with the oil and crushed garlic into a pan.
Continue with Preparation:
Let everything brown over high heat and add the scampi scraps, wait a few minutes, stirring occasionally, and blend with the brandy. Once all the alcohol has evaporated, add the parsley, then also pour in the water, the coarse salt, the peppercorns and lastly the tomato paste, mix and leave to cook over a moderate heat for 30 minutes. Once the shellfish stock is ready you can filter it through a sieve. Now take care of the scampi cream: pour 20 g of oil into a pan together with a clove of garlic and leave it to brown over a moderate heat, then remove it. and add the cleaned scampi. Let them brown on both sides for a couple of minutes, add salt and add the lemon juice. Take some scampi which will be used for the cream; keep the others aside to decorate the dishes. Pour the scampi into a container with a 16 cm high edge, add a ladle of the broth, the fresh cream and blend with the immersion blender, so as to obtain a cream. At this point, take care of the risotto, finely chop the shallot and transfer it to a pan where you have poured the remaining part of oil. Let it brown gently, with a ladle of liquor then add the rice and let it toast for a few minutes, stirring often with a wooden ladle. Once the rice has changed color slightly, start adding a ladle of broth. Mix everything and cook the rice by adding more broth one ladle at a time, allowing the liquid to absorb before adding more. Once cooked, stir in the scampi cream; flavor with the grated lemon zest and thyme leaves. Serve by garnishing the dish with the scampi previously kept aside. Your scampi cream risotto is pronto!
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