Pork belly, porcini and asparagus risotto with cava
Course: Main courseCuisine: Italian with a Catalan touchDifficulty: Medium
Servings
6
servingsPrep time
15
minutesCooking time
45
minutesEstimated calories
580
kcalTotal time
1
hourGolden pork belly and porcini build a savoury base, green asparagus brings freshness, and cava ties it together. This risotto from Bernie Torras’s collection is finished with butter and Parmesan off the heat, leaving it creamy with a little bite in the rice. Put on Italian Kitchen Serenade and have the plates ready before the final ladle of stock: risotto is best served straight away.
Modo cocción
Mantén encendida la pantalla de tu dispositivo mientras cocinas
Ingredients
400 g arborio or carnaroli rice, uncooked
200 g fresh streaky pork belly, rind removed, not smoked or cured
200 g fresh porcini, cleaned; alternative: 20 g dried, see notes
1 bunch green asparagus, about 250 g trimmed without woody ends
4 shallots, about 120 g peeled
1200–1500 ml chicken and vegetable stock, hot
200 ml brut cava
50 g unsalted butter, cold and diced
50 g freshly grated Parmesan
salt, only if needed after tasting
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- Heat the stock in a saucepan and keep it at a very gentle simmer. Finely chop the shallots. Clean and dry the porcini, then cut into small pieces. Remove the woody asparagus ends, cut tender stalks into 1 cm rounds and keep the 2–3 cm tips separate. Dice the pork belly into roughly 5–8 mm pieces.
- Put the pork belly in a wide, heavy-based pan without extra oil. Cook over medium heat for about 6–8 minutes, stirring, until the fat renders and the meat starts to turn golden. Lower the heat, add the shallots and cook for 4–5 minutes without burning them.
- Add the porcini and sauté for 3–4 minutes to drive off surface moisture. Pour in the cava and reduce for about 3–4 minutes until almost no free liquid remains. Watch the base so it does not catch.
- Add the unwashed rice and stir for 1–2 minutes to coat it in the cooking fat. Pour in enough hot stock just to cover. Start timing the rice from this first addition of stock.
- Keep at a gentle simmer, adding stock one ladle at a time when the previous addition is nearly absorbed. Stir frequently without crushing the grains and do not let the base dry out. The rice usually takes about 17–20 minutes; start tasting at 15 minutes and follow the grain’s texture and the packet guidance.
- After the rice has cooked for 10 minutes, add the asparagus rounds. Add the tips about 4–5 minutes before the rice is ready. They should be tender with a little bite; halve thick tips lengthways. Continue adding stock as needed.
- When the rice is cooked with a little resistance in the centre, take the pan off the heat. Add the cold butter and Parmesan and stir vigorously for 1–2 minutes. Add a little more hot stock if necessary: the risotto should move in a wave when the pan is shaken and spread gently on the plate.
- Taste, adjust the pepper and add salt only if needed. Immediately divide among six warm plates. Do not wait for the rice to absorb every drop of liquid or leave it standing under a lid.
Notes
- Suggested yield: six moderate main-course portions. The asparagus bunch is estimated at 250 g trimmed and the four shallots at 120 g peeled. Allow about 15 minutes’ preparation and 45 minutes’ cooking; timings are estimates.
- The recipe’s 200 g fresh porcini is retained. The handwritten note is interpreted as an equivalence of 10 g dried to 100 g fresh: use 20 g dried for this quantity. If using dried porcini, soak in lukewarm water for 30 minutes, drain, check for grit and chop. Add them at the same stage as fresh mushrooms. This preliminary 30-minute soak is not included in the 60-minute total.
- Stock needs vary with the pan and rice: keep 1.5 litres hot and use between 1.2 and 1.5 litres as needed. Do not wash the rice. This version keeps the source’s sequence: reduce the cava before adding and coating the rice.
- For softer asparagus, add the stalks with the first stock, keeping the tips for later. Add butter and cheese off the heat. Starch and emulsification create the creamy texture; no cream is added.
- Estimated nutrition per one sixth: about 580 kcal. The calculation includes all rendered pork fat, 1.5 litres of reference chicken stock and all the cava’s energy, without deducting evaporation. White mushroom values approximate porcini. Sodium depends strongly on stock and cheese; added salt is excluded. Finished portion weight has not been measured.
- Contains milk, celery in the reference stock and sulphites from cava. Check stock and cheese labels for other allergens. Reducing the cava does not guarantee removal of all alcohol. Nutrition applies to risotto made with fresh porcini, excluding drinks and other courses.
Equipment
- Wide heavy-based pan
- Saucepan to keep stock hot
- Ladle and spatula
- Knife, chopping board, grater, scales and measuring jug
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories: 580kcal
- Fat: 27.9g
- Saturated Fat: 12.4g
- Sodium: 833mg
- Carbohydrates: 60.8g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Sugar: 3.4g
- Protein: 14.8g
Have you made this recipe? I want to see it!
Tag @pucheromix on Instagram with the hashtag #mipuchero
