Inspired by a restaurant dish.
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 pound pork shoulder cut
- 1/4 cup gorganzola cheese
- 2 tablespoon italian parsley chopped
- 2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- Carbohydrate 51.4938308333333 g
- Cholesterol 28.2593333333333 mg
- Fat 11.8804783333333 g
- Fiber 2.61300829871496 g
- Protein 13.4629958333333 g
- Saturated Fat 3.303752 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (311g)
- Sodium 848.441333333333 mg
- Sugar 48.8808225346184 g
- Trans Fat 1.14126733333333 g
- Calories 373 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook pork in a preheat 350F oven for 45 minutes. Cool and cut into 1/2" pieces.
- Heat chicken broth until simmering.
- In a separate large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add rice and cook, while stirring, for 1 - 2 minutes. Add white wine, stir and cook until wine is almost completed absorbed. Begin adding chicken stock, a laddleful at a time, stirring well after each addition and cooking until almost completely absorbed. Continue adding broth over 15 - 20 minutes, constantly stirring.
- Add the pork and dried cranberries. Stir. Add the cheeses while stirring. Add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Arborio rice drives this entire dish through differential starch behavior. Short-grain Italian rice varieties possess high amounts of amylopectin, a branched-chain starch that dissolves easily in hot liquid to create a creamy suspension. Toasting the dry grains in olive oil for one to two minutes creates a temporary lipid barrier around each kernel. This protective fat coating slows down liquid absorption, preventing the exterior from dissolving into mush before the interior cooks through. Maintaining the chicken broth at a simmer is critical because adding cold liquid drops the pan temperature below the starch gelatinization threshold, halting the cooking process entirely. Continuous stirring shears the exterior starch granules mechanically, releasing them into the simmering stock to thicken the sauce without requiring heavy cream. Dried cranberries introduce concentrated tartaric and malic acids alongside dehydrated cellular structures. Rehydrating them inside the simmering rice mixture forces those organic acids to leach into the cooking liquid, cutting through the heavy dairy fats from the gorgonzola and parmesan. Fresh onions soften in three to four minutes over medium heat as pectin breaks down within the cell walls, releasing natural sugars that caramelize slightly and provide an aromatic base. Pork shoulder, roasted initially at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, undergoes collagen denaturation where tough connective tissue converts into gelatin, yielding tender protein morsels. Substituting fresh cranberries requires adjusting the liquid ratio downward because fresh fruit contains roughly 90 percent water by weight, whereas dried fruit absorbs liquid from the broth as it plumps. Gorgonzola cheese contains specific penicillium roqueforti spores that produce methyl ketones during aging, generating sharp, pungent flavor compounds that disperse rapidly when exposed to residual heat.
