Recipe for Ticinese risotto

In homes as well as on the menus in grottoes and gourmet restaurants, risotto is a dish that never disappoints because it can be made in a thousand different ways. In families it is even cooked more than once a week, with a ritual that changes from home to home, because, it goes without saying, every family has its own recipe for making the perfect risotto. Here’s ours: 100% Ticinese because it only uses typical products from our region, including the rice.

Risotto Loto “Brutti ma Buoni” with mushrooms
Serves 4:
40 g olive oil
240 g Loto rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
200 g variety of fresh mushrooms, chopped
20 g dried porcini, soaked in a bowl of water
100 ml white wine, Merlot bianco of Ticino DOC
800 ml chicken stock
50 g butter
100 g grated Parmesan

Brown the onion in the olive oil, add the chopped mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes before adding a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to the rice and toast it lightly. Soak in half the white wine and add the chicken stock (hot). Allow the rice to cook for around 18 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the remaining wine. Add the butter and finally the Parmesan. Allow to stand for 3-4 minutes then season to taste. The risotto must be “al dente” but not hard, it must also be soft and slightly liquid “all’onda” (not too dense).

Thanks to Ticino’s traditional demand for risotto and the high quality of the rice, by 2010, what had initially been just two hectares now covered an area of 90 hectares.
Rice grown here belongs to the Loto variety: an oval-shaped, elongated (non-pearly) grain that is tasty and consistent. It is best suited to risottos, side dishes and salads as it is hard to overcook.

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Buon appetito!