Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Risotto

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Risotto (slightly adapted from Amuse Your Bouche, Servings: 4, Total Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour)

Ingredients

·         2 red peppers

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         2/3 Tbsp. butter

·         ½ onion, finely diced

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         ½ tsp. sugar

·         1 cup Arborio rice

·         4 cups vegetable stock

·         Black pepper

·         ¼ cup cheddar cheese, grated

·         2 tsp. dried basil

·         1/3 cup soft goat cheese, roughly crumbled

1.       Heat the oven to 450°F. Place the whole red peppers on a baking tray, and roast for around 20 minutes, until the skins are charred. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a plate. Cover with cling film – the steam that is trapped inside will make the skins easy to remove. Set aside for now.

2.       While the peppers are roasting, prepare onions and garlic. Heat the oil and butter in a large wok or risotto pan. Add the onion, garlic and sugar, and cook over a medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the onions are soft and just beginning to caramelize. Stir regularly.

3.       Add rice and stir to coat with the butter and oil. Begin to add the stock ½ cup at a time, only adding more when the previous amount has been mostly absorbed by the rice. Stir regularly, and keep adding more stock until the rice is cooked, around 30 minutes.

4.       While the rice is cooking, peel off the skins of peppers and cut into several pieces, being careful to remove the stalk and seeds from inside. Place the pepper flesh in a mug or a deep bowl, and use an immersion blender to blend the peppers into a chunky purée.

5.       When the rice is cooked, add the cheddar cheese, basil, the red pepper purée and some black pepper. Mix well. Serve topped with the goat’s cheese.

I will start off by saying that I LOVE this dish.  My husband LOVES it too.  Double winner!  I thought I added a tad too much pepper, but he liked it just fine.  I guess the best way to describe the flavor is sweet, peppery, cheesy, with a hint of Italian (from the basil).  The goat cheese adds a nice touch – a bit more creaminess to the already super creamy risotto.  I used a garlic cheddar cheese to enhance the flavor even more – awesome decision!  My mouth is watering just thinking about this delicious dish.  Each bite was such a treat to my taste buds.

I had some bits of red pepper that didn’t completely puree, but those and  the onion added just a hint of crunch.  The color was overwhelmingly red, but there were hints of green and black from spices (plus white from the goat cheese).  I liked that this dish was pretty easy to make, considering that it’s a risotto.  I served it with half of a Trader Joe’s Sausage-less Italian Sausage.

I cannot wait to make this again!