Apple Risotto Recipe: Sweet Arborio Rice with Apples and Cinnamon
Rice pudding with apple, or simply rice with apple, makes a delicious breakfast with a very delicate flavor. The dish turns out especially well with the Italian rice varieties used for risotto.
Given how common this fruit is around the world, it's no surprise the apple has played an almost central role in the history of science and of humankind. The biblical Fall is linked to an apple. And the apple that dropped on Sir Isaac Newton's head gave rise to the fundamental Law of Universal Gravitation.
Rice, meanwhile, is the best-known and most widespread grain, the staple food for most of the world's population. In deep antiquity rice became the foundation of Asian culinary traditions, and later made its way to the Old and New Worlds. It's a wonderful ingredient for soups, side dishes and pilafs. Rice is a valuable dietary food and a cornerstone of healthy eating.
Italians are masters of cooking rice, especially in the northern provinces. Italian risotto is a masterpiece of world cuisine.
Risotto calls for round, high-starch rice such as arborio, carnaroli and similar varieties.
Cook rice with apples the way Italians make risotto, and you get a dish that works as a tasty breakfast or a sweet dessert. Kids are sure to love this apple rice pudding. For more sweet versions, try strawberry risotto and banana risotto.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Rice (arborio) 1 cup
- Apples 2
- Olive oil 3 tbsp
- Salt, brown sugar, saffron, walnuts, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- Don't rinse the rice, even though polished rice carries a lot of rice flour. In the end this flour partly gives the dish its characteristic flowing texture, which matters.
- Toast the shelled walnuts in a dry skillet until they smell pleasantly nutty. Or, more simply, warm them in the microwave for 1–2 mins: the effect is the same, just make sure the nuts don't burn.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan until it becomes fragrant. Fry the arborio rice in the oil for 3–4 mins, stirring constantly. The rice should turn pearly and translucent and be coated with a film of oil.
- Add the toasted nuts. If you like, add a few seedless raisins as well.
- Add a pinch of salt, the vanilla and a pinch of saffron to make the apple rice pudding fragrant.
- Next, the rice needs liquid. If you can, use vegetable stock, made in advance. Just simmer soup roots, a carrot and an onion in 1 l of water for 20–30 mins, without salt or spices. If that's too much trouble, ordinary boiling water from the kettle will do.
- It's best to add the liquid in small portions. Add each new portion only after the rice has absorbed the previous one. One cup of good arborio can absorb up to 1 l of liquid.
- When the rice is half cooked, add the apples, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. If you want a dessert risotto, use more sugar.
- Keep adding liquid and cook the rice with the apples until the rice is done.
- The finished risotto has the consistency of apple rice pudding: thick yet flowing, with the large, tender grains of arborio clearly distinct.
- Spoon the rice and apples onto plates. If you like, top with a few thin apple slices sprinkled with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Serve the rice with apples hot for breakfast.
| Yield: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 150 kcal per 100 g |
| Prep: | 15 mins |
| Cook: | 30 mins |
| Ready in: | 45 mins |
| Category: | Main Dishes |
| Cuisine: | Italian cuisine |
| Rating: |
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4.6
(3)
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