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risotto

Double Corn and Mint Risotto

September 3, 2010

Double Corn and Mint Risotto

Of late I’ve been reading a lot about Italy. Everyone and their mothers are vacationing in Italy and then documenting their summer experience on their blog. This leaves the proletariat like me yearning for the unfulfilled experience. And it doesn’t stop there – I also have Italy talk going on in my inbox with so many readers. So, what’s the next best thing I can do to allay my emotions? Cook myself something Italian, of course! With a renewed sense of hope, I set out to make some risotto from a recipe I’d bookmarked eons ago.

Double Corn and Mint Risotto

With corn in season, it was time I ticked this corn risotto recipe off my list. I used white and yellow sweet corn in the risotto. I was toying with the idea of using either basil or mint because I wanted to maintain the delicate flavours of the corn risotto, instead of using a strong herb like thyme. So I tried both, and am happy to report that the mint flavour paired beautifully with the sweet corn (just like in the caramelised corn with mint). I’d pick that any day over basil, despite being a huge basil lover. Another thing worth noting is that adding sugar to the risotto while cooking brings out the innate sweetness of the corn. While it’s just so good to make it with homemade stock, I cheated and used cubes because I didn’t have any chicken carcasses at hand.

My only grouse with risottos is that you need to serve it immediately after they’re cooked – it’ not something you can prepare ahead of time, unless you precook the rice, like in restaurants. Even so, you will still have to do all the other work in the kitchen. It’s a pretty perfect meal that gets even better with some garlic bread. Two thumbs up.

Double Corn and Mint Risotto

Double Corn Risotto Recipe

Adapted from: This Week’s Menu
Yield: 4 servings

2 cups uncooked corn – white + sweet yellow
4 cups chicken broth
3 tbps butter
2-3 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet your corn is)
1 onion, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
2 tbsp chopped mint
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Equipment: Pans, chinoise, sauté spoon.

Method:

Puree 1 cup of the uncooked corn in a food processor until smooth. Strain it through a chinoise to get rid of all the tough corn skin.
In a saucepan, heat the chicken broth to a simmer.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.
Add the rice and sauté, stirring, 3 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and the pureed corn and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has been absorbed, 5-7 minutes. Continue adding the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until the previous addition has been absorbed before adding more.
After adding 2 cups of the broth, add the remaining whole corn kernels. Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it tastes right (not overtly sweet). Add in the seasoning.
After the last cup of broth has been absorbed, let the risotto cook 3 minutes more (I prefer it to be slightly liquid I might add a few tablespoon of broth after turning off the heat as well).
In the end, stir in the mint, parmesan and butter and cover it with a lid for all the flavours to marry, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.

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Parmesan Risotto with Pine Nuts

May 23, 2009

in dinner

Parmesan risotto with zucchini and broccoli

I ~~like~~ love a good risotto – rich and creamy with the characteristic bite of arborio rice. It so wonderfully comforting to sit with a bowl of risotto and it’s even more fun when you’re not thinking *carbs*carbs*carbs* in your head.. I’d been craving for risotto for a while but wasn’t quite willing to toil over a hot stove in this weather we have here. Instead I went for lunch to my favorite place here. I loved their risotto with pine nut, broccoli and zucchini so much that I felt compelled to replicate it. So I was back at the stove, anyway.

Give this a go, I totally loved how this turned out!

Parmesan Risotto with Pine Nuts
Yield: 3-4 servings

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/4th cup/250g arborio rice
1 quart/1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
4 tbsp butter
1/4th cup/50 ml heavy cream (optional)
Few sprigs of your favourite herb.
1/2 cup/40-50g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

parmesan, zucchini, broccoli and pine nuts

Let the chicken stock simmer on a low heat right next to the skillet that is being used to make the risotto. Keeping the stock hot will reduce cooking time.
In a large, heavy skillet, saute the onions in the olive on a medium heat until soft and translucent; about 3 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the rice and stir till it is nicely coated with the olive oil, another 5 minutes. Keep stirring, making sure the rice doesn’t stick to the pan.
Pour in a ladleful of the stock and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Then add another ladelful or two. Continue adding the stock as the rice has taken it all up. Also, keep stirring. Use up all, but a ladeful of the stock.
After about 20 minutes of cooking time, check rice for texture – the risotto is ready when the rice is al dente, which means it has a nice bite to it, just like pasta. For me, it was a little over 25 minutes when this texture was achieved.
Also check for seasoning, but do note that the chicken stock as well as the cheese have a lot of salt already, so add salt sparingly, lest you end up with something way to salty.
Now it’s time to add the cheese, butter and/or heavy cream and chopped herbs. I used thyme.
When it looks nicely blended add the vegetables of your choice – I sauted some zucchini in butter briefly and blanched broccoli in the chicken stock before it was used up.
Turn off the heat and the reserved chicken stock. I like the last addition to keep the risotto from looking to thick and stuck together.
Serve immediately and dot with pine nuts.

Other good things to add to the risotto:
• Try hazelnuts or spiced walnuts instead of the pine nuts.
• Blanched or grilled asparagus, with extra parmesan shavings on the rice.
• Mushrooms with strips of grilled chicken

As much as I’d wish, the risotto does not keep too well and has to be consumed right off the stove. Since it continues to absorb the liquid, it will not retain the bite. So just make sure you eat it up right away!

Need something richer? Try the Three Cheese Risotto. Decadence.

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Three Cheese Risotto

October 2, 2008

in dinner

I’ve had my box of Arborio rice for almost over a year now, but never came around to making some risotto. Not because I’m not a fan, but because I was quite intimidated. The box of rice remained vacuum-sealed so I wasn’t so worried (once open, it is advisable that you store it in the refrigerator, else it will go bad really soon).

Once I got down to making it, it was fun. Indian readers, think of it as an Italian khichdi – no really, that’s all it is. What’s more, all the carbs and fat gets balanced off by the workout you get by stirring away rice and adding the broth ladle by ladle. That said, Alton Brown does say that you don’t really need to stir it constantly, but I’d just wanted to be absolutely sure the first time I made risotto. Another thing I only recently learned is that a quick way of making the risotto would be to cook it in a pressure cooker and it will be ready sooner than you think! The only thing I don’t like about risottos is that they cannot be made ahead of time since they absorb in all the moisture and the dish gets quite dry.

Risotto can be made with a lot many variations – with seafood, herbs, spices, mushrooms, cheese, and what have you. What’s interesting is that you don’t really need so add much cheese because the rice is extremely starchy; it assists in attaining that perfect creamy texture.

Some Risotto do’s and don’t:

Choose a heavy pan with a thick bottom and sides to help distribute heat evenly.
It’s best to buy thoroughly cleaned risotto rice because you want to avoid rising it as the creamy texture is attained by the starch on the rice.
It’s best to use homemade broth. Follow Alton Brown’s recipe – you won’t be disappointed.
Always let the broth simmer while adding it ladle by ladle. Keeping both, the rice and broth at similar temperatures will help in achieving the texture sooner; which means being kind to your arm.

Here I’ve tried to replicate a risotto I had at a local restaurant. It was extremely creamy and luscious 3 cheese risotto with asparagus and toasted hazelnuts (I’m not a fan of nuts in my food, but the hazelnuts give it an amazing bite to it – really shouldn’t omit it!)

Three Cheese Risotto with Asparagus and Hazelnuts

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
400g Arborio rice
150 ml dry white wine
1.5l vegetable or chicken stock , simmering
60g asparagus, the tough ends trimmed and then blanched
2 tbsp butter
50g Pecorino Romano with truffle bits, grated
50g Gruyere cheese, grated
50g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated. Some more for the table.
30g hazelnuts, toasted

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the butter and oil together. Add the onion and cook on a low flame until soft and translucent
Add the rice and stir on a high heat for a few minutes. Keep stirring, or the rice will stick. Add the wine and stir until it has evaporated.
Turn down the flame now. Add the stock a ladle at a time. Keep stirring until all the stock has been absorbed, then add some more! You might not require all the stock, so keep checking on it. The grain should be nice and plump to look at and have a slight bite to it. I like to add a few spoonfuls of extra broth because I like my risotto to be a little looser than usual – you can avoid that if you like. Add salt if the broth is not salty enough. Also, add the asparagus at this point.
Turn off the heat and then beat in the butter and pecorino, gruyere and half the parmigiano reggiano cheese. Stir until everything has come together beautifully. Cover it with a lid for a minute. Then serve immediately. Stir in the hazelnuts just before serving. Top with the rest of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.