Firstly prepare the red wine reduction.

Peel and fry the halved shallots in a pot with butter and oil. Season to taste and cook on medium heat until browned. Now pour in the wine, the sage, the honey and let it reduce by half. The sugars will help the wine reduce and become less pungent on the palate and most of the alcohol will cook off and evaporate. Pass it through a sieve and set aside.

To prepare the gorgonzola cheese fondue, simply heat the cream on a low heat and add the gorgonzola. Let it simmer very gently for a couple of minutes while stirring, to melt the cheese. Even if it still chunky, I like it this way but if you prefer you can blitz it with a blender for a smoother result. Season to taste and keep warm.

In a larger sauce pan, gently sweat the chopped onion with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes until golden and caramelized.

Now add the Carnaroli rice and toast on low heat with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes mixing every now and then. This step is important to obtain a uniform al dente rice.

When the rice is very hot, pour the wine in. Now add the simmering stock and set the cooking time to 16 minutes. Stir the rice occasionally, and make sure the rice is always covered with stock.

Halfway thought the cooking time add the wine reduction instead of the stock to provide cooking liquid to the rice and when the time is up, taste the risotto, if you’re happy with the texture remove it from the heat, if you want the rice a little bit softer, cook for another minute.

This step is called “mantecatura” to make the risotto creamier increasing its natural ooziness with the right gesture and movements.

Add the butter and stir well until the risotto is nice and creamy. Season to taste and add more hot stock if the risotto is drying out too much.

Plate the risotto straight away, top with a couple of spoon of hot gorgonzola cheese sauce for each plate and garnish with chopped toasted (and peeled) pistachios.

Chef’s tips: Although not mandatory for the recipe, a fatty cheese like gorgonzola mellows down the acidity of the red wine and it complements it very well.

I often add a teaspoon of beetroot powder to the risotto to make the colour more vibrant.