Creamy Bell Pepper Risotto

Before getting my blood test result to know if I were celiac or not, I took advantage of the wait having many different risottos.

Living abroad made me realize that most people think there are just a couple of risotto recipes, mainly those with mushrooms and saffron. Arborio and Vialone Nano kinds of rice are actually incredibly versatile, and there are plenty of risotto recipes with almost every ingredient that pops into your mind.

One of my favorites is with yellow bell peppers – so creamy, so tasty, and satisfying! Please beware that yellow bell peppers are usually low FODMAP but might be triggering for someone.

The only downside of bell peppers for me is that I hardly digest the skin. This said I found 2 main ways to get rid of it easily.

The first one has been buying a professional peeler specific for bell peppers, tomatoes, and kiwis, this one works wonders!

The second one is to prior cook the bell peppers in the oven on fan mode for about 40 minutes, turning them around a couple of times, once cooked and still hot, put them in a sealed container and wait about 10 minutes, and the skin will slip off very easily at the end.

This becomes handy even as meal prep. You can keep some in the fridge and use them within 3-4 days. Buon appetito!

Makes: 2 servings
Serving Size: about 3oz of rice each
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: around 40 minutes to cook the bell peppers and 20 minutes for the risotto

Ingredients for creamy bell pepper risotto:

• 6 oz of arborio rice
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 glass of white wine
• Nut-size amount of butter
• 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Directions for creamy bell pepper risotto:

1. Pre heat the oven at 400F
2. Wash the bell pepper, dry it and put it in the oven for about 40 minutes, turn it around for a couple of times once the skin darkens
3. Once cooked, put it in a sealed container and leave it to rest for 10 minutes. After that you will be able to peel the bell pepper easily, remove the stem and white filaments inside
4. Heat up the broth on a side pot
5. In the meantime, put the olive oil in a pan along with the garlic and let it brown for a couple of minutes on low heat
6. Add the rice to the pan, let it toast for about a minute, then pour the wine and simmer until reduced
7. Add a ladle of broth to the risotto and stir
8. On a side, with a mixer, blend the bell pepper flesh with 4 tablespoons of broth
9. Keep stirring the risotto while adding the creamy bell peppers, broth, salt, and pepper (remember to remove the garlic!)
10. Add broth and stir until the risotto is "al dente," around 16/17 minutes
11. Turn off the heat and add butter and parmigiano, stir until creamy