That's today's cooking ... I posted the sauce and rib recipes yesterday, and finished the dish today.
Risotto gets a bad rap for being fussy to prepare. It is actually quite easy, and while you do have to pay close attention to it, the whole cooking process takes under a half hour, including the infamous stirring. I find it relaxing to prepare, and comforting to eat. While I have two cookbooks that are devoted just to risotto recipes, I usually rely on a basic recipe which is good all by itself. The variations to risotto are completely personal and can be as simple as adding a cup of fresh peas or as complex as my curried seafood risotto, which I developed after eating the dish in Italy.
Risotto gets a bad rap for being fussy to prepare. It is actually quite easy, and while you do have to pay close attention to it, the whole cooking process takes under a half hour, including the infamous stirring. I find it relaxing to prepare, and comforting to eat. While I have two cookbooks that are devoted just to risotto recipes, I usually rely on a basic recipe which is good all by itself. The variations to risotto are completely personal and can be as simple as adding a cup of fresh peas or as complex as my curried seafood risotto, which I developed after eating the dish in Italy.
I also developed this recipe for risotto with broccoli that has been enhanced with garlic, olive oil, butter, and some toasty pine nuts for texture and added flavor, after finding I had a single lonesome box of defrosted chopped broccoli languishing in my refrigerator. I always think of broccoli as an Italian vegetable, and like lamb, it has a natural affinity for garlic.
Inspiration Nation Risotto Marco Polo
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sweet butter
4 cloves of peeled garlic, grated on a microplane
1 - 10 oz. box of frozen chopped broccoli, defrosted, drained
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat until they take on some color and become fragrant. Watch them carefully, as they will go from toasty to burnt in a second. Take them off the heat before they darken too much, as they will continue to toast in the hot pan and from carryover heat. Remove them from the pan onto a flat surface and let them cool. Add the olive oil and butter to the pan, and when the butter is melted, add the garlic. As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant, stir in the broccoli. Cook over medium low until broccoli is softened, then stir in the pine nuts. Remove from the heat.
In the meantime ... begin the risotto. This recipe demands a well-orchestrated mise en place, so gather all of your ingredients, read the recipe all the way through, and walk this way --->
1 cup Arborio rice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
About 4 cups (1-32 oz. carton) chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Place the chicken stock in a medium pot and heat just to the boiling point. Keep it simmering on the stove. If it seems to be evaporating, add a little water and reheat before using.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over low heat and add the onions. Season onions with kosher salt and black pepper, and then saute until translucent. Next, add the Arborio rice to the and stir to coat the grains with the oil. Saute with the onions to toast each grain, between 5 and 7 minutes.
Once the rice is lightly toasted, add the white wine and stir with a wooden spoon. Always stir in the same direction. Once the wine is mostly absorbed, add a standard sized ladle of stock to the pan, stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed. Continue adding the stock, one ladle at a time, until it is all absorbed and the rice is fully cooked but still a little chewy. Stir in the butter, the cheese, and the cream. Then stir in all of the broccoli-pine nut mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
If you are going to reheat any leftover risotto, place it into a microwave safe dish and stir in a little cream or half and half or even a little leftover stock. Cover and reheat in the microwave on medium high, just until heated through.
Whipped Rutabagas with Bacon and Caraway
4-6 strips precooked bacon, diced, crisped a bit in a frying pan, and removed to a paper towel to drain
2 pounds yellow turnips (rutabagas) - I like to get 2 medium instead of one large rutabaga
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon sugar
kosher salt and coarse black pepper to taste
Sweet (Hungarian) paprika
Rutabagas have to be peeled and diced, and this is not an easy task without a santoku or chef's knife. Cut off a slice from the top and from the bottom; place the rutabaga flat on the cutting board, then slice off the waxed peel from the top down. Repeat around the entire rutabaga and trim off any peel you may have missed.
Cut the rutabaga into halves, and then cubes. Be extremely careful when cutting up a rutabaga; it is too easy to cut yourself in the process.
Place the cubes in a pot and cover with water. Heat to boiling over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain well and place the rutabaga cubes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Using the pulse button, process the turnips until chopped, then add the butter and sour cream and process until mixture is fluffy but still has a little texture to it. Add in the sugar, caraway seeds, salt, pepper, and cooked bacon bits, and process a few seconds more.
Butter a medium sized casserole dish and transfer the mixture to the dish. Sprinkle the top lightly with some paprika. Before serving, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then bake the dish 20 minutes until hot.
Chick Peas with Chorizo (a side dish)
1-15 oz. can chick peas (garbanzos) drained, plus
1-7.75 oz. can of chick peas, drained
1-15 oz. can Italian stewed tomatoes, drained well, with tomato pieces cut in half with kitchen scissors
1 dry chorizo sausage (these are purchased off the shelf, not the refrigerator case), casing removed and then diced small
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
In a medium frying pan, saute the chorizo in the olive oil until the chorizo starts to get crispy and releases its reddish oil into the pan. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and hold aside. Add the onion to the pan with the oil, and sprinkle with salt and plenty of pepper. Saute until edges of onion pieces start to brown, and then add the chick peas. Heat the chick peas in the oil for a few minutes, and then carefully stir in the tomato pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.
1 cup Arborio rice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
About 4 cups (1-32 oz. carton) chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Place the chicken stock in a medium pot and heat just to the boiling point. Keep it simmering on the stove. If it seems to be evaporating, add a little water and reheat before using.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over low heat and add the onions. Season onions with kosher salt and black pepper, and then saute until translucent. Next, add the Arborio rice to the and stir to coat the grains with the oil. Saute with the onions to toast each grain, between 5 and 7 minutes.
Once the rice is lightly toasted, add the white wine and stir with a wooden spoon. Always stir in the same direction. Once the wine is mostly absorbed, add a standard sized ladle of stock to the pan, stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed. Continue adding the stock, one ladle at a time, until it is all absorbed and the rice is fully cooked but still a little chewy. Stir in the butter, the cheese, and the cream. Then stir in all of the broccoli-pine nut mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
If you are going to reheat any leftover risotto, place it into a microwave safe dish and stir in a little cream or half and half or even a little leftover stock. Cover and reheat in the microwave on medium high, just until heated through.
Whipped Rutabagas with Bacon and Caraway
4-6 strips precooked bacon, diced, crisped a bit in a frying pan, and removed to a paper towel to drain
2 pounds yellow turnips (rutabagas) - I like to get 2 medium instead of one large rutabaga
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon sugar
kosher salt and coarse black pepper to taste
Sweet (Hungarian) paprika
Rutabagas have to be peeled and diced, and this is not an easy task without a santoku or chef's knife. Cut off a slice from the top and from the bottom; place the rutabaga flat on the cutting board, then slice off the waxed peel from the top down. Repeat around the entire rutabaga and trim off any peel you may have missed.
Cut the rutabaga into halves, and then cubes. Be extremely careful when cutting up a rutabaga; it is too easy to cut yourself in the process.
Place the cubes in a pot and cover with water. Heat to boiling over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain well and place the rutabaga cubes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Using the pulse button, process the turnips until chopped, then add the butter and sour cream and process until mixture is fluffy but still has a little texture to it. Add in the sugar, caraway seeds, salt, pepper, and cooked bacon bits, and process a few seconds more.
Butter a medium sized casserole dish and transfer the mixture to the dish. Sprinkle the top lightly with some paprika. Before serving, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then bake the dish 20 minutes until hot.
Chick Peas with Chorizo (a side dish)
1-15 oz. can chick peas (garbanzos) drained, plus
1-7.75 oz. can of chick peas, drained
1-15 oz. can Italian stewed tomatoes, drained well, with tomato pieces cut in half with kitchen scissors
1 dry chorizo sausage (these are purchased off the shelf, not the refrigerator case), casing removed and then diced small
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
In a medium frying pan, saute the chorizo in the olive oil until the chorizo starts to get crispy and releases its reddish oil into the pan. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and hold aside. Add the onion to the pan with the oil, and sprinkle with salt and plenty of pepper. Saute until edges of onion pieces start to brown, and then add the chick peas. Heat the chick peas in the oil for a few minutes, and then carefully stir in the tomato pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.
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