Recipe for Valentine’s Day dinner 2023.

This can be just the excuse to prepare this risotto: Winter time  is when the pomegranate are at their best and their red color is fantastic. This beautiful fruit not only has great health benefits but also a great history of symbolism.

Ingredients

 for 2 people

200 gr.=1 cup of Roma /Arborio /Carnaroli rice

2 tablespoons E.V.O.O.

2 pomegranates

1 leek

2 cups vegetable broth

120 gr.=½ cup  butter

1 glass of rosé wine

Preparation: 60′

 To prepare the pomegranate risotto first you have to shell the two pomegranates; once the seeds have been collected, pass their seeds with the help of a vegetable mill, taking care to preserve a handful for the final decoration of the dish

Coarsely slice the leek and brown it ina large pot with 1 tbsp. of butter, add a little vegetable broth and when it’s tender, blend it with the chopper until you get a velvety cream.

 Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in the pot and toast the rice,

 Blend with rosé wine and evaporate keeping the heat high.

When the wine has evaporated, lower the heat and add the leek cream, mix well and begin to add the vegetable broth little by little, letting it absorb stirring constantly.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the leek creamnd rice

With the help of a vegetable mill, pass the seeds of the pomegranate, taking care to keep a handful that we will need as the final decoration of the dish.

Add the  pomegranate juice to the rice halfway through cooking and mix thoroughly.  When the rice is cooked, remove it from the heat and stir in the remaining butter

 You can serve your pomegranate rice garnishing each dish with some grains that you have previously preserved.

 Serve hot.

 Among the risottos there are many where a fruit is an ingredient of the preparation,for instance strawberry risotto.

Some tips to customize this dish:

  • If you do not have time for the realization of the leek cream you can simply heat a little’ butter and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan and let the chopped onion cook for a couple of  minutes, proceed by adding the rice, toast it, and cook as said in the recipe
  • Replace vegetable broth with a light chicken broth that will give the dish very special taste notes.

    This risotto, characterized by the red of pomegranate grains, will help you make an excellent Valentine’s Day menu. Serve it simply over salad leaves (we recommend using  red radicchio)

Finally decorate it with the grains set aside as indicated in the recipe.

And remember that the pomegranate fruit is a symbol of abundance. The many sweet and juicy grains that are found inside the fruit represent wealth, fertility, prosperity. Its red color is associated with blood, with a meaning of vitality, passion, energy.


Wine: Rosè del Poggio by Poggio san Polo Winery