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This is the second recipe I've made from Antoni in the Kitchen. One of the the reasons I was excited to make this dish is because Meg and I master Risotto Balls every Christmas, they are a fan favourite at our Christmas eve neighbourly get together. So I knew what to expect, except the only difference being this is made in a bundt pan.
Antoni mentions in his book that the inspiration for this dish was Giada De Laurentiis, an Italian-American chef, writer, and television personality. While switching through channels while he was getting his sweat on at the gym, he landed on the Food Network and was instantly taken by Giada's brimming smile. In the episode Giada was making her version of the traditional sartu di riso, from this episode Antoni created his own version which he serves during the holidays and anytime entertaining.
The first part of the recipe is the tomato basil sauce, kinda like a marinara, except you add carrots and celery. I used my homemade canned tomatoes which I will share with you this year when I prepare them. Unfortunately you don't have my tomatoes so you will need to grab a few cans at the grocery store. My advice...spend a little extra money on the best canned tomatoes your market offers - this is an order!
Once the carrots, celery, and onion are sauteed and the onions are translucent add the tomato paste to the pot. Before adding the tomatoes, cook the tomato paste for a couple of minutes, or until it turns a deep red colour, (caramelized) - this adds another level and ups the complexity factor in a big way.
The sauce can be made the day before, and you don't want it hot when you're assembling it in the bundt pan. However, you will be warming the remaining sauce for serving.
The rice part of the dish can also be made a day or two in advance, again this has to be cooled (not cold) before you assemble. The rice should be al dente. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf once the rice is cooked. Also, If you don't want to use chicken broth sub it with a vegetable broth, this just adds flavour to your rice. I'd Pam it up by cooking the rice in the oil a little before adding the broth...and sub in a little white wine in place of about 1/2 cup of broth.
I have few tips when lining the pan with breadcrumbs. First, make sure you generously coat the pan with butter (I should have used more butter), this will allow more breadcrumbs to adhere to it, and help to toast them evenly. Second, when lining the pan with rice dampen your hands or add a little butter to your fingers, this will make sure the rice doesn't stick to your hands - trust me this helps!
Once baked, wait a few minutes to flip and remove it from the pan. This will give you time to reheat the sauce. If you're serving this for guests you can present it on a platter, I chose a square white porcelain platter - I think the contrast is nice. I will also add a little more oil to the top to ensure it evenly browns on top, and I will cook it for a few extra minutes just to make sure it toasts up perfectly.
This was positively yummy! It is extremely filling so I suggest serving it with a mixed green salad tossed in a light vinaigrette.
How would I Pam it up? For starters I prefer my marinara sauce (every cook has their own version of marinara or Sunday gravy), but this one works very well, and is really tasty. Since I have meat eaters in my family I would add homemade meatballs, or sausage - either would work well. Place the meatballs between the sauce and the mozza when assembling.
Let me know what you think, give it a try the next time you're entertaining, your guests will be impressed!
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