This is great to do in the depths of winter when everything else is incredibly beige. The kale is in season even in the depths of winter, and this makes for a wonderfully verdant dish to cut through the gray skies.
For rice, I usually budget about 50 g (dry) per person as a starter or side, and more like 100 g per person as a main.
Ingredients
- 200 g cavolo nero, stems removed, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- Vegetable stock (ca. 1 liter)
- Butter
- 2 shallots, finely minced
- 200 g medium grain rice (e.g., carnaroli, arborio)
- 100 g dry white wine
- 30 g parmesan cheese
- 30 g olive oil
- Salt
Method
Bring a pot of generously salted water to boil. Then blanch the cavolo nero and garlic together in the boiling water for 3-5 minutes until the cavolo nero is deep green and softened.
Transfer the cavolo nero and the garlic to a blender jar along with around 100 mL of the cooking liquid.
Bring the vegetable stock to a bare simmer in a separate pot over low heat.
Heat a medium pan over medium heat with enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan.
Then add the shallots along with a generous pinch of salt. Sweat the shallots until they’re soft and translucent, but not browned, around 7-10 minutes.
Add the rice, and stir it to coat it in the butter and lightly toast it.
Then add the white wine, and cook it out until the rice has absorbed most of it. From there, add the warmed vegetable stock to the rice in batches, stirring occasionally, until the rice is almost cooked through, but still has some bite.
Add the cheese and olive oil to the reserved cavolo nero and garlic. Blend the mixture until it’s completely smooth.
Stir the green sauce into the risotto. Season the rice to taste.
Serve immediately.