Simple, but with a touch of fantasy it can become a refined dish: the risotto with zucchini is ready to surprise you
It is a fresh and light dish, which is prepared in a short time and which can be enriched with many ingredients, to become a refined and elegant first course: risotto with zucchini has a very delicate flavor, capable of meeting even the taste of the little ones, and precisely because of its delicacy, it can be made more structured with the combination of shellfish, smoked salmon, toasted bacon slices or dried fruit, such as walnuts and hazelnuts. In any case you want to prepare it, the risotto with zucchini remains a pleasant and light first course.
The most suitable zucchini
The presentation of a dish is like a woman's dress: if it is well done, it adds value to the content itself. For this reason, not all courgettes are suitable for preparing this dish. The best are the Ligurian zucchini, small and with a light green streaked color: cut into rounds they are not larger than a small circle, have very firm flesh and do not flake during cooking. But of course it depends on the season and the availability of your trusted gardener!
And now the recipe for preparing risotto with zucchini
For this dish you will need 320 g of Carnaroli rice, 3 very firm zucchini, a red Tropea onion, a white onion, a carrot, a bay leaf, salt, peppercorns, 100 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, a few leaves of fresh mint, extra virgin olive oil and butter.
Prepare vegetable broth putting in a large pot water, an onion, a carrot, a courgette, a pinch of salt, a few grains of pepper and a bay leaf and cook for 40 minutes over medium heat. Then strain and leave on the heat. Separately, fry the thinly sliced Tropea onion in a pan with a knob of butter. When it is golden, add the rice, let it toast a few minutes and then cover it with two ladles of broth, which you will continue to add as it is absorbed by the rice. Halfway through cooking, add the diced courgettes, stir and finish cooking. When the rice is al dente, turn off, add the Parmesan, stir in a knob of butter, cover for 5 minutes and then serve, completing with a few leaves of fresh mint.