Radicchio, Speck and Almond Risotto

I'm a woman who keeps promises: here you have my radicchio risotto, as promised. Since my hunger for experimentation  is getting bigger and bigger and  I had to demonstrate my cooking improvements, I decided to go in search of a more elaborate recipe. Having some pistachios at home I found a recipe of a risotto with pistachios, speck (a smoked ham typical of Trentino Alto Adige, North Italy) and radicchio. You'll probably think that the title of my post is a mistake...no, it isn't: what happens is that I burnt the pistachios while I was toasting them and after touching the depths of culinary despair (lol), I remembered I had some almonds too and decided to try using them  instead of pistachios. Well, the risotto was really good and that lifted my mood up again! I learnt two things from this "accident", first, to pay attention when toasting nuts, since they are very delicate, and second, that a mistake in the kitchen can open the way to new creations if you don't let yourself be taken from anxiety and despair. Open your fridge and closets for new ideas, you will never imagine what you can create... My ideal wine matching for this dish is a Friulano (Tocai), fresh and smooth to match the delicate bitter aroma of radicchio and the salty smoked taste of speck. Moreover, this wine has a typical almond aftertaste, that is perfect for this recipe.  I tried a Friulano from Edi Keber (2007 vintage) - a producer from the Collio Doc -  and I loved it. The wine presents some fumè notes at the nose, together with hints of  dry flowers and aromatic herbs in harmony with the dish features. It has a good acidity and minerality and a very long almond finish. 

Radicchio, Speck and Almond Risotto

(makes 6 servings)

350 g Vialone nano rice
400 g red radicchio from Treviso
100 g speck
1/2 glass white wine
1/2 chopped onion
a handful of peeled almonds
1 l vegetable stock
extra virgin olive oil
a knob of butter
salt
pepper
50 g grated Parmigiano cheese

Clean radicchio and cut it into pieces. Cut speck into strips. In a pan put a tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and brown onion for a few minutes. Add half radicchio and half speck and cook for a couple of  minutes. Put  salt and pepper (do not salt too much, because speck is very salty). Add rice and toast it till it gets shiny. Add wine and simmer until evaporated. Cook rice adding vegetable stock little by little (the cooking time for Vialone nano is 16/18 minutes). When the rice is half cooked (after about 8/9 minutes) add the rest of radicchio. In the meantime place almonds and the rest of the speck in saucepan without adding any grease and let them toast for a few minutes until the speck gets crunchy. When the rice is cooked stir in a knob of butter and Parmigiano (if someone like it without cheese, just leave it on the table for self-serving). Serve rice and decorate with the crunchy speck and the almonds (I preferred to mix them in the rice before serving).