The recipe for Risotto with Fontina and Barbera reduction is by chef Cesare Battisti(Ratanà Restaurant, Milan) created for FontinaMI 2024. We chose to pair it with Barbera d’Alba Superiore Vigna Mompissano 2019 from Bric Castelvej.
Ingredients for 4 persons:
240 g Carnaroli rice, 1 tablespoon evo oil, vegetable broth to taste, 180 g Fontina Dop d’Alpeggio cheese, 40 g butter, 1 tablespoon typical Lodigiano cheese
For the Barbera reduction: ½ liter of Barbera, 1 clove of garlic, A few sage leaves, 1 sprig of parsley
For the mustard pear: 1 decana pear, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 drops of mustard essential oil
Directions:
Reduction of Barbera:
In a saucepan, bring half a liter of Barbera wine to a boil with a clove of garlic, a few sage leaves and a sprig of rosemary. The wine will be ready when it has reduced to 4 tablespoons.
If needed, a small knob of butter can be added to thicken more easily.
Senapata pear:
Cook a decana pear in a saucepan of unsalted, unsweetened water with the cinnamon stick (if you don’t like cinnamon, you can do without).
When the pear is cooked, drain, blend, and add 2 drops of mustard essential oil. Allow to cool.
Risotto:
Toast the rice in a saucepan dry or with at most a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. When it becomes translucent, cover it flush with vegetable stock.
Stir for 12 minutes, continuing to bathe the rice whenever the broth is absorbed.
Add the Fontina d’Alpeggio cheese and continue stirring.
After 14 minutes from the start of cooking, turn off the heat and cream with butter and a tablespoon of typical Lodigiano cheese.
Let stand for 3 minutes.
Plating:
On a flat plate lay the Alpeggio Fontina risotto. Using a spoon, combine the Barbera reduction. Create dots with the mustard pear sauce.
Wine pairing:
(Edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)
Barbera d’Alba Superiore Vigna Mompissano 2019 Bric Castelvej
Red with slight purplish highlights. Aromas of underbrush and black cherries, with a final light note of oriental spices. Remarkable power in the mouth, softened by ample smoothness; ripe red fruit flavors, sweet, fleshy cherries and lingering fruity finish.
Production area: Canale d’Alba (Cuneo). 13 plots on limestone-clay soil with a low percentage of sand. Exposure is southwest and average altitude 350 meters.
Grapevine: 100% Barbera. Two thinnings are carried out (early and late August), removing part of the apices and cluster wings, ensuring an average production of 1.80-2 kg per vine.
Harvest: late September-early October.
Production processes: Maceration takes place in steel fermenters in which the fermentation temperature can be adjusted and lasts approximately 2 weeks. Then the wine rests in large oak barrels, in which malolactic fermentation takes place. After malolactic fermentation, the stay in tonneau lasts until the summer when bottling takes place in August.
Tasting temperature: 18°C. Recommended pairings: Accompanies richly flavored dishes such as dry soups and meat dishes; prefers soft, fatty cheeses that have not been aged for long.
