Risotto con fragole

So here is the recipe of 'Risotto con fragole', i.e. 'Strawberry risotto', that I showed at the roundup for the last FPOM.. sorry for having it up only now. :) Actually, I already posted about this recipe here, but I think it's better to rewrite it - and I now have a decent picture. :)

Risotto con fragole / Strawberry risotto

This is not the typical 'risotto': usually risotto is made with cheese, vegetables and/or meat - typically, for example, mushrooms, or asparagus, or some type of fish. Yet, risotto alle fragole is a quite famous dish, although not many people have tried it. It's considered somewhat 'fancy'. And in fact, it is, and if you make it, you'll taste a very different flavor than the usual risotto dishes you have had. This is a little tart, and yet creamy and savory at the same time. Hard to describe.

Ok, no more introduction. To make this, soak about 1 pound of strawberries cut into pieces in ~ 4 cups of white wine, overnight. When you're ready to make the risotto, take a pot (~10 inches diameter, 8 inches high, just to give you an idea). Add ~1 tbsp butter and sautee one onion (finely cut) in it, then add ~8 handfuls of rice, and sautee the rice with the onion. Then, add the wine where the strawberries had been soaked. The liquid should be enough to cover the rice, and about two fingers higher than the level of the rice in the pot (the fingers are measured horizontally :) ). If the strawberry-infused wine is not enough for this, add some more white wine. Add a vegetable bouillon, too. Add salt (~2 tsp) and cover the pot with a lid. Let the rice cook for about 20 minutes. Open, make sure there's still a little bit of liquid, and add the pieces of strawberries. Taste and check for the salt in the meanwhile. At this point, I also like to add some cheese that melts easily, like a very mild cheddar or some sort of fake mozzarella square cheese that they sell in the US. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until rice is done. The rice can be served with some coarsely ground black pepper and a little bit of grated parmigiano on top. It's very good, and it's nicely colored. Guaranteed success. :)