{"id":11913,"date":"2026-08-30T23:27:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T21:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/?p=11913"},"modified":"2026-08-31T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:22:08","slug":"crispy-grape-risotto-prosciutto-petals-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/crispy-grape-risotto-prosciutto-petals-september","title":{"rendered":"Crispy Grape Risotto with Prosciutto Petals: Villa Dianella’s September Recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

September in Tuscany is the month when everything turns towards the vineyard. The days shorten a little, the morning air turns cooler, and among the rows of the Montalbano hills the work that gives meaning to the whole year begins: the harvest. This year, with the extreme heat and drought that have sped up ripening, it has arrived even earlier than expected.<\/p>\n

When the grapes come into the cellar, they come into the kitchen too. At the Bistrot delle Scuderie of Villa Dianella, September’s recipe is born from exactly that moment: crispy grape risotto with prosciutto petals. A dish that takes the fruit of the harvest to the table before it ever becomes wine.<\/p>\n

It is a balance of contrasts. The creaminess of the rice, the sweet-sharp bite of grapes that stay firm under the tooth, the fine saltiness of Tuscan prosciutto sliced paper-thin. Three simple elements that together tell the story of September better than any elaborate recipe could.<\/p>\n

\"Crispy<\/picture><\/p>\n

September grapes: from the vineyard to the kitchen<\/h2>\n

In Italy we are used to thinking of grapes as one thing only: wine. Yet for centuries, in the Tuscan countryside, the grapes of the harvest also found their way into bread, into desserts, into meat dishes. Schiacciata con l’uva<\/em>, the flat grape bread baked at harvest time, is the best known example but not the only one: the freshly picked fruit that does not go to the cellar has always found its way to the table.<\/p>\n

There is a precise reason behind that tradition. In September grapes reach the point where sugar and acidity are in balance \u2014 the very point the winemaker waits for before deciding when to pick. In the kitchen that balance is gold: it gives sweetness without cloying, and keeps the sharp edge that holds the palate awake.<\/p>\n

This dish needs firm grapes, the kind that resist when you bite them. Overripe fruit collapses at the first touch of heat and turns to jam. Firm black table grapes work well, or \u2014 and this is the choice made here, in the days of the picking \u2014 the ripest Sangiovese berries, pulled from the bunch by hand and deseeded. They are smaller and more intense, with a skin that gives the dish character.<\/p>\n

\"Hand-picking<\/picture><\/p>\n

Properly crisp: the technique that makes the dish<\/h2>\n

The name of the recipe contains its difficulty: the grapes have to stay crisp. It is the one thing that can go wrong, and it is what separates a successful dish from a risotto with cooked fruit in it.<\/p>\n

The principle is simple: high heat, short time. The berries are halved and deseeded, then tossed in a pan with a knob of butter and a sprig of thyme for no more than a minute \u2014 just long enough for the cut surface to caramelise and take colour. A splash of white wine, and off the heat immediately.<\/p>\n

What you get is a berry with a sweet, faintly amber surface and a core that is still firm and fresh. Leave them on the heat even a minute longer and the skin gives way and the berry collapses: there is no coming back from that. Better to lift them out while they still look slightly underdone, because they will go on warming in the plate.<\/p>\n

Some of the berries are set aside completely raw, to be added only when plating. It is a detail that changes the mouthful: alongside the caramelised sweetness comes the freshness of just-picked fruit, and the dish gains a third texture.<\/p>\n

Prosciutto petals: two ways in the same dish<\/h2>\n

Tuscan prosciutto is different from other Italian hams, and the difference tells precisely in a dish like this one. The longer curing and the bolder salting \u2014 both born of a tradition in which the bread is unsalted and whatever goes on it has to carry the seasoning \u2014 give it a clean saltiness that stands up to the sweetness of the grapes without disappearing.<\/p>\n

It is called \u00abpetals\u00bb because the slices, cut very thin, are laid over the risotto soft and overlapping, like the petals of an opening flower. Here too, though, the dish plays on two registers.<\/p>\n

Half the slices go into the oven at 160\u00b0C, laid flat between two sheets of paper and pressed under a second tray, until they turn crisp and translucent like a shard of glass. Broken by hand, they bring crunch and concentrated saltiness. The other half stays raw and soft, laid over the risotto at the very last moment, when the heat of the dish just begins to wilt it and releases its aroma.<\/p>\n

The rice: creaming without smothering<\/h2>\n

The risk, in a risotto with such assertive ingredients, is to smother them. The mantecatura<\/em> \u2014 the final beating in of butter and cheese \u2014 has to be calibrated accordingly.<\/p>\n

Carnaroli is the right rice: it holds its cooking, releases starch slowly and stands up to the movement of the creaming without going soft at the edges. The toasting must be done properly, dry or with the barest film of oil, until the grain turns translucent and warm to the touch \u2014 the step that will let it absorb the stock and still stay whole.<\/p>\n

For deglazing we use the estate’s own Vermentino, Sereno e Nuvole: its citrus acidity prepares the ground for the grapes and leaves no sweet note in the bottom of the pan. And for the creaming, instead of Parmigiano, an aged Tuscan pecorino: less milky, more savoury, it takes the side of the prosciutto and does not cover the fruit. Cold butter, off the heat, a firm hand: the cream should be glossy and flowing, never gluey.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/picture><\/p>\n

The recipe: crispy grape risotto with prosciutto petals<\/h2>\n

Ingredients for 4<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Carnaroli rice: 320 g<\/li>\n
  • Firm black grapes, or well-ripened Sangiovese berries: 250 g<\/li>\n
  • Tuscan prosciutto, very thinly sliced: 80 g, about 12 slices<\/li>\n
  • Light vegetable stock: about 1.5 litres<\/li>\n
  • Shallot: 1, finely chopped<\/li>\n
  • Sereno e Nuvole, Villa Dianella Vermentino IGT: 100 ml<\/li>\n
  • Cold butter: 60 g, half for the grapes and half for the creaming<\/li>\n
  • Aged Tuscan pecorino, grated: 60 g<\/li>\n
  • Villa Dianella extra virgin olive oil: 2 tablespoons<\/li>\n
  • Fresh thyme: 2 sprigs<\/li>\n
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper: to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Method<\/h3>\n

    Begin with the prosciutto, because it needs time to cool. Heat the oven to 160\u00b0C. Lay six slices of prosciutto flat on a baking tray lined with parchment, cover them with a second sheet and press them under a second tray. Bake for ten to twelve minutes, until stiff and amber. Let them cool completely: it is in cooling that they turn crisp. Keep the other six slices aside, raw.<\/p>\n

    Prepare the vegetable stock and keep it hot, at a bare simmer throughout: adding cold stock to a risotto in progress stops its creaminess dead.<\/p>\n

    Now the grapes. Pull the berries from the bunch, halve them and remove the seeds. In a wide pan melt half the butter with a sprig of thyme, raise the heat and toss the berries cut side down for no more than a minute, until they take colour. Deglaze with a finger of Vermentino, let it evaporate for a few seconds and take them off the heat at once. Set aside two tablespoons of raw grapes for plating.<\/p>\n

    In a heavy-bottomed pan soften the shallot in the extra virgin olive oil, gently, without letting it colour. Add the rice and toast for two minutes, stirring, until the grain is translucent and hot. Deglaze with the remaining Vermentino and let it evaporate completely.<\/p>\n

    Begin adding the hot stock, one ladle at a time, waiting each time for it to be absorbed before adding the next. Cook for sixteen to eighteen minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Season halfway through, bearing in mind that the prosciutto and the pecorino will bring their own salt.<\/p>\n

    Two minutes from the end, fold in the saut\u00e9ed grapes along with their pan juices, stirring gently so as not to break them.<\/p>\n

    Take the pan off the heat and cream the risotto: first the cold butter in pieces, then the grated pecorino, beating vigorously until you have a glossy cream. Loosen with a ladle of stock if needed: the risotto should move in the plate, flowing rather than stiff.<\/p>\n

    Plate at once. Spread the risotto into warm plates, tapping them lightly on the work surface so it settles by itself. Finish with the raw grapes you set aside, the raw prosciutto slices laid on as petals, and the crisp prosciutto shards broken by hand. A grind of black pepper, a thread of raw extra virgin olive oil, and straight to the table.<\/p>\n

    Pairing with the wines of Villa Dianella<\/h2>\n

    A creamy, savoury dish with a sweet component and a strong salt note calls for a wine that cleanses without silencing it.<\/p>\n

    The pairing of the month is Maria Vittoria & Ottavia Ancestrale<\/strong>, the estate’s \u00absur lie\u00bb sparkling ros\u00e9. Its fine perlage cuts through the creaminess of the risotto, while its notes of peach and bread crust speak to the caramelised grapes and to the saltiness of the prosciutto. It is September’s wine of the month, and not by chance: it comes from the same Sangiovese being picked in these very days.<\/p>\n

    Sereno e Nuvole<\/strong>, the organic Vermentino also used to deglaze the risotto, is the more straightforward alternative: citrus freshness and mineral salinity that accompany the dish from beginning to end without ever imposing themselves.<\/p>\n

    For those who prefer a red, a young Chianti Dianella<\/strong> served cool, at around sixteen degrees, works well: the acidity of the Sangiovese cleanses the palate and the light tannins do not clash with the sweetness of the grapes.<\/p>\n

    \"Maria<\/picture><\/p>\n

    September at Villa Dianella: the kitchen follows the harvest<\/h2>\n

    There is a coherence in this dish that goes beyond the recipe. The same Sangiovese filling the crates between the rows ends up, in the same week, inside a risotto served a few hundred metres from the vineyard. The wine it is deglazed with comes from the same grapes a year earlier. The oil finishing it comes from the olive grove you can see from the dining room windows.<\/p>\n

    This is what seasonal cooking means at Villa Dianella: not a label, but the natural consequence of what is happening outside at that precise moment. In September the harvest is under way outside, and so in September there are grapes on the table.<\/p>\n

    Crispy grape risotto with prosciutto petals is on at the Bistrot delle Scuderie all month, and accompanies the Sundays of the Harvest Brunch, which returns from 27 September to the historic cellars surrounded by the vineyards. At home it is a dish worth trying right now, while the grapes are the real ones of the picking: afterwards, for a whole year, it will not be quite the same.<\/p>\n

    For information and reservations at the Bistrot delle Scuderie, contact Villa Dianella on +39 0571 508166, via WhatsApp or by writing to info@villadianella.it. Villa Dianella is in Via Dianella 48, 50059 Vinci (FI), about 40 minutes from Florence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    September in Tuscany is the month when everything turns towards the vineyard. The days shorten a little, the morning air turns cooler, and among the rows of the Montalbano hills…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_fp_seo_title":"","_fp_seo_meta_description":"","_fp_seo_focus_keyword":"","_fp_seo_meta_canonical":"","_fp_seo_meta_robots":"","_fp_seo_geo_claims":"","_fp_seo_geo_expose":"","_fp_seo_geo_no_ai_reuse":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Crispy grape risotto with prosciutto petals: Villa Dianella's September recipe. Ingredients, the technique for keeping the grapes firm, and the pairing with the estate's wines.","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"crispy grape risotto","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_product_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":""},"categories":[1592],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ristorazione-ricette-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11914,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11913\/revisions\/11914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villadianella.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}