Eel risotto | Francesco Vincenzi

Recipe for 4 people

For the rice

• 400 g of Vialone Nano rice
• Fresh horseradish

For the capon broth

• 1.5 kg capon, cleaned and gutted
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 1 white onion
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 200 g crusts of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 10 g black pepper
• 30 g sea salt
• 5 sage leaves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 cloves of garlic

Procedure

Place the capon in a large pot and cover it with 10 l of cold water. Rinse the vegetables and add them to the pot along with the herbs, pepper and salt. Add the Parmigiano crusts, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 hours. Strain through a Chinese strainer.

Heat the resulting broth to 80°C, add the sage, rosemary and garlic. Turn off and let steep for two hours, then strain.

For the cream of eel

• 300 g cooked eel scraps
• 30 g white wine vinegar
• 25 g Villa Manodori extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml water
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Smoke the eel in a Green Egg type smoker for about 3 minutes. Place the eel and all ingredients inside a Thermomix.

Blend the mixture at high speed bringing the temperature to 70° C so that the mixture is homogeneous and well emulsified. Strain through fine-mesh strainer, place in container and allow to cool.

For the smoked oil

• 100 g Villa Manodori extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

Place oil in a small saucepan and smoke for 3 minutes inside a Green Egg type smoker. Store at room temperature.

For the concentrated saba

• 200 g of saba

Procedure

In a small saucepan, reduce the saba over low heat by 50 percent. Then keep aside.

For the giardiniera

• 1 red bell bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell bell pepper
• 1 peeled carrot
• 100 water
• 60 g sugar
• 200 g wine vinegar
• 5 g salt

Procedure

Wash and clean the vegetables, cut them into 0.5 cm cubes. Prepare the giardiniera liquid by pouring white wine vinegar, salt, sugar and water into a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, pour the vegetables into the liquid and cook for about 3 minutes to leave the vegetables crisp.

Remove from the heat and drain the vegetables, retaining the cooking liquid; let cool separately. Place both the vegetables and the mixture in a jar and store in the refrigerator. The amount of vegetables obtained will be greater than the amount that will be used in the dish.

Dish composition

Toast the rice in a nonstick pan, deglaze with the capon broth, add salt and proceed to cook as for a classic risotto. Halfway through cooking, add three tablespoons of eel cream. Bring to cooking with the broth, checking and balancing the flavor and alternating with a few ladles of hot water. When the cooking is finished, remove the pot from the heat and stir-fry by adding the rest of the cream of eel and the smoked oil.

At the base of the dish arrange the giardiniera, a tablespoon of saba previously heated in a small saucepan over low heat, the rice, and top everything with a generous grating of fresh horseradish.