Sparkling wine risotto: a simple recipe that is sure to impress

3 tips for a perfect sparkling wine risotto

Choose the right type of rice: 

For a chef-proof sparkling wine risotto, it is essential to use Carnaroli rice, which is ideal for making risotto, as:

• It has a larger and more consistent grain, which holds up to cooking very well.
  
• It absorbs broth, sauces and condiments very well, preserving all the aroma.
• It has a slightly sweet flavor, ideal for enhancing the taste of sparkling wine risotto.
• Due to the high percentage of starch, it ensures an extremely creamy end result.

Prepare vegetable broth at home: 

Sparkling wine risotto is prepared with vegetable broth, which is perfect for enhancing the flavor of this dish without overpowering it. Compared to that made with the classic stock cube, homemade broth has a whole other flavor, as well as being very simple to prepare.

• Take 2 carrots, 1 onion and 2 ribs of celery
• Wash them and cut them into rather large pieces
• Put everything in a saucepan, cover with about 3 quarts of cold water and let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours.
• After straining everything, the broth for your sparkling wine risotto will be ready!

Toast it and shade it the right way: 

The basis of any self-respecting risotto is always good toasting: the rice should be toasted by throwing it into a copper or aluminum saucepan, without adding anything else, stirring it continuously with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking.

For perfect toasting, it usually takes about 3 minutes, but to be sure the rice is toasted just right, you only need to observe it: once it becomes translucent, almost transparent, it will be ready.

All you have to do at this point is to fade it with sparkling wine (we chose the Blanchus Terre de la Custodia, which with its fresh taste and citrus scents is perfect for delicately enhancing the taste of our dish).

Now that we have revealed all the secrets to you, we just have to leave you to our recipe, which we have made even tastier with a final touch of basil cream, prepared by blending fresh basil and Il Casolare Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which, thanks to its fruity and very balanced taste is able to enhance the most refined dishes.