List of Ingredients
- 2 cups carnaroli rice
- 9 oz. nettles
- 1 cup milk
- 4 oz. hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
- 1 cup Pecorino, grated
- 3 Tbsp. Grana Padano, grated plus extra
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- cornstarch
- white wine vinegar
- extra-virgin olive oil
Method
For the risotto: Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt. In another pot bring the vegetable broth to boil.
Clean the nettle leaves and blanch them. To blanch the nettle leaves, add to the boiling water for 3 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and blend to a soft cream.
Blend 4 oz. hazelnuts with 2/3 cup oil, and chop the remaining hazelnuts.
In a dry saucepan over medium heat, toast the rice for 3-4 minutes. Add ½ cup broth and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth in ½ cup increments, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, around 15-18 minutes.
Stir the nettle cream into the cooked rice, along with 3-4 Tbsp. hazelnut oil and Grana Padano.
For the Pecorino sauce: Bring the milk to a boil. Next, dissolve 1 tsp. cornstarch in 1 Tbsp. water and add to the milk. Add the grated pecorino, and stir until it forms a sauce.
To serve the risotto, top with 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, the Pecorino sauce, and the chopped hazelnuts.