Chard Stuffed With Risotto And Mozzarella - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable broth, more if needed
1 cup arborio rice
1 pinch saffron
2 lemons, zest of
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated, more for garnish
salt & freshly ground black pepper
6 chard leaves
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preparation

Cook rice in vegetable broth, starting with one cup; add broth in stages, using about 3 cups total, until rice is barely tender. Reserve unused broth. Dissolve saffron in juice of 1 lemon. Add to rice, along with butter, parmesan, zest of one lemon, salt and pepper, to taste. Allow rice to cool a bit. Recipe can be made up to an hour in advance at this point, but do not refrigerate rice.
Poach chard leaves in about 2 cups of remaining broth for about 30 seconds. Remove, drain in a dishcloth, and cut out hardest part of central stem. Reserve cooking broth.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With wet hands form 6 balls of rice 2-3 inches across. Dig a hole in the ball and insert a piece of mozzarella. Wrap each ball in a chard leaf.
Put balls in a close-fitting oven pan, with enough reserved broth to come about a half-inch up sides of balls; bake 15 minutes. Serve balls topped with a little more broth, more lemon zest, parmesan and olive oil.