Champagne Risotto with Prosecco and Zucchini
The idea for this recipe was created very spontaneously. After all, I’ve never heard of something like “champagne risotto”, but googled it and it turns out that there is such a thing! Italians call it Risotto allo spumante. But from the beginning.
As always, I am giving you some suggestions on how you can modify the recipe to suit your preferences and the contents of your fridge.
Modifications:
- You can replace Arborio rice with Carnaroli rice, these two varieties of rice are perfect for risotto.
- To add some protein to your dish, you can add chicken or turkey. Just fry the meat with onion and pour in the wine, then add the rice and zucchini as in the recipe below.
- If you want to prepare a champagne risotto, use your favorite champagne or prosecco, but dry white wine will work just as well for risotto with zucchini, as the bubbles will disappear anyway.
- You can replace the white onion with shallots.
- The season for zucchini from the garden is about to start, so my risotto is with zucchini, but you can also add leek, mushrooms, tomatoes or other favorite vegetables.
- You can replace the Parmesan with grana padano or pecorino cheese.
How to prepare risotto?
The most important rules for making risotto:
- Do not cover the risotto while frying!
- Do not pour water on the risotto, only broth!
- Don’t leave the kitchen – risotto must be constantly stirred, you have to stand over it and check whether to add more liquid or not and whether the rice is ready.
- First, fry the onion, then add garlic, add any vegetables or meat, fry, add rice, fry, add wine, when the liquid evaporates, add the first portion of broth. Fry and water the rice until al dente. Finally, add grated parmesan and butter.
- Be careful with salt! Especially if you use ready-made broth. The broth is salty, the parmesan is salty, so it’s easy to overdo it if you add salt. It is worth preparing a “weaker broth”, e.g. from half a portion, to avoid excess salt.
- Pour hot broth over risotto. It doesn’t have to be boiling, but it should be very warm so as not to cool the fried rice.
- Risotto must be eaten immediately. Reheated risotto will not be creamy, the rice will be overcooked, it will absorb the rest of the liquid and the risotto will stick together like dough.
What wine to use for risotto?
Add white wine to the risotto, preferably dry. You can also use sparkling wine. If you prefer semi-dry wine, you can also add it. The most important rule – add the wine you like. If you want to add non-alcoholic wine, nothing stops you!
Why not red wine? Red wine may turn the rice purple-blue and it will not look aesthetically pleasing. In risotto, rice is supposed to play the first fiddle, then there are additions, e.g. lean meat or delicate vegetables. We don’t want heavy red wine to overshadow their taste.
Can children eat risotto with wine?
Add wine to the risotto at the very beginning. During cooking, all the alcohol in the wine will evaporate, so eating risotto is safe for children, drivers and pregnant women because it does not contain alcohol.
Does risotto rice need to be rinsed?
We do not rinse rice for risotto! By rinsing the rice, we remove the starch that makes it sticky. If we rinse the rice, our risotto will not be creamy and sticky, which is the consistency we want.
What herbs to use for risotto?
Risotto has a delicate taste, its aroma is given by wine, parmesan and butter. For risotto with such a delicate-tasting vegetable as zucchini, you don’t need any herbs that could dominate the dish. Just pepper and salt.
How to make risotto stock?
Risotto can be poured with broth, vegetable or meat broth. But if we want to prepare risotto quickly, we can use ready-made broth. Either in cubes or in the form of jelly from a jar or from the box. I use vegetable or chicken broth for zucchini risotto. However, if you want to prepare it yourself, just add the vegetables and meat to the pot, cover with water and then cook for a few hours over low heat to obtain an aromatic broth.
Should you peel zucchini for risotto?
It depends on your preferences. You can peel the zucchini, but you don’t have to. Young zucchini is best for risotto, as you don’t need to remove the seeds.
Risotto with zucchini is perfect for people on a vegetarian (with vegetable broth), flexitarian and pescatarian diet.
Risotto rice does not contain gluten, so it is a gluten-free dish.
The proportions given below make approximately 3 portions of risotto.
Read the step-by-step recipe on how to prepare risotto with Prosecco and watch the video below the recipe.
Also subscribe to the SaltedPasta channel on YouTube and sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss any recipes!
Champagne risotto with Prosecco and zucchini
Risotto with Prosecco and zucchini Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli) (ok. 150 g)
- 1 onion
- 1-2 clove garlic
- 1 small zucchini (ok. 250 g)
- 100 ml Prosecco (or other dry white wine/sparkling wine)
- 750 ml broth
- 45 g parmesan
- 30 g butter
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into four pieces lengthwise and then cut into slices. This will give you "triangular" pieces. Chop the onion finely. Grate the Parmesan cheese finely.1 onion, 1 small zucchini, 45 g parmesan
- Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pan. Pour the onion into the heated olive oil. Fry. Add pressed or chopped garlic to the glazed onion. Fry for a few seconds and add the rice. Fry the rice for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then pour white wine over it. Stir constantly.When the liquid evaporates, add the zucchini. Fry for a few moments and pour the first portion of broth (50-100 ml). Stir constantly, and when the liquid evaporates, add more until you have used up most of the broth. When you have some leftover broth, try to see if the risotto is ready or if you need to add more broth.¾ cup risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli), 1-2 clove garlic, 100 ml Prosecco, 750 ml broth, olive oil
- When the rice is al dente – it is firm but not crunchy, you do not feel that it is hard, and there are no hard particles in your teeth, it means that the risotto is ready. Finally, add parmesan and butter. Stir until the cheese and butter melt. Season with pepper and salt if desired. Enjoy your meal!30 g butter, pepper, salt
Video
Notes
Aperol Spritz – recipe for 1 glass:
- 90 ml Prosecco,
- 60 ml of Aperol,
- about 30 ml of chilled sparkling water,
- half a slice of orange,
- 3-4 ice cubes.
Nutrition
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Advertising cooperation with Lidl Polska.
