Risotto Recipes
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 11:33 PM PST
By Cathy Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleMarianne Chambers recipe is in two stages, starting with the rice part and then offering two suggestions for additions.
RISOTTO BASE
2-3 tablespoons organic, extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons organic butter
1 organic shallot, minced
2 cups carnaroli or Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (I like to use Chardonnay)
7 cups broth
Heat olive oil and butter in large stock pot. Add shallots and saute until soft. Stir in arborio rice, making sure to coat each grain, and toast it for a minute.
Add the wine (and keep stirring). Once the wine is absorbed, add the broth a cup at a time, stirring the rice the entire time.
As each cup of broth is absorbed, add another one. Once the broth is absorbed and the rice is soft and translucent, this is where I add the yummies!
MUSHROOM RISOTTO
1 tablespoon organic, extra virgin olive oil
1 can artichoke bottoms (or hearts), chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms*
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated small.
Add the mushrooms to the heated oil in a saute pan, and let the mushrooms sit. Only stir occasionally. I like the mushrooms to saute past the point where their own juice is reduced and their is a nice brown crust on the mushrooms.
Once the mushrooms are sauteed, add the chopped artichokes to the pan, stir to heat through. Add this mixture to the rice mixture along with the cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
Transfer to serving dish and enjoy!
* The choice up mushrooms is up to the cook. Sometimes I’ve used dried porcini, chanterelle, oyster — whatever your taste — but the most common I used is regular button mushrooms. Especially when they are on sale!
SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS RISOTTO
1 bunch new (small) asparagus chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 to 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined & cleaned
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated small
If fresh asparagus does not look particularly pleasing, or if it is too expensive, I’ll use canned asparagus tips. But the risotto is not the same. Fresh is better. Blanch the asparagus, drain and add to risotto mix along with shrimp. Stir until shrimp is cooked thoroughly. Add cheese, again stir until cheese is melted.
Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!
This risotto depends on a mix of wild, fresh mushrooms, but plain fresh mushrooms will work.
WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Serves 6
5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 pound fresh wild mushrooms
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano (Parmesan cheese), plus addition parmigiano for the table
Salt
Freshly milled white or black pepper
Heat the broth in a saucepan and keep it on very low heat.
Meanwhile, remove any dirt from the mushrooms with a soft brush or clean, dry kitchen towel. Trim off the tough bottoms from the stems. If the mushrooms are extremely large, halve or quarter them lengthwise. Set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the mushrooms. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Add chopped onion and garlic and saute until softened but not colored, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and saute over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to coat the grains well. Stir in the wine, reduce the heat to medium, and allow it to evaporate and become absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Now add a ladelful of the hot broth, stirring well. When it is nearly all absorbed into the rice, add another ladelful of broth, stirring all the while.
Continue in this fashion, stirring continuously, until the broth is absorbed and the rice is half cooked, about 15 minutes. At this point, stir in half the mushrooms. Continue cooking the rice as described, a ladelful of hot broth at a time, stirring and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before adding the next one.
When the rice is tender but still slightly chewy — it should be creamy but not mushy — remove from the heat. Total cooking time should be 20 to 25 minutes. You may not need to use all the broth.
Stir in the remaining mushrooms, parsley, and the parmigiano. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve risotto piping hot from the hot skillet onto individual plates and pass additional parmigiano at the table.
— “Italy: The Vegetarian Table,’ by Julia Della Croce, Chronicle Books, 1994
PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS WITH PUMPKIN RISOTTO
Makes 4 servings
4 miniature pumpkins, about 4 inches in diameter
For risotto
1 1/4 cups diced (1/4 inch) peeled seeded fresh pumpkin (can substitute other meaty squash)
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1 ounce grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For scallops
20 large sea scallops (1 1/2 pound), tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
Roast miniature pumpkins:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roast whole miniature pumpkins in a small roasting pan with 1/2 inch water, tightly covered with foil, until very tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly. Cut out tops and reserve, then scoop out seeds. Discard water from roasting pan, then return pumpkin shells to pan and keep warm, covered with foil.
Make risotto while pumpkins roast:
Cook diced pumpkin in a medium saucepan two-thirds full of simmering water until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in a colander.
Bring stock and 2 cups water to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep at a bare simmer. Cook onion in oil in a 2- to 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup simmering stock and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed. Continue simmering, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth left over.)
Remove from heat and stir in diced pumpkin, cheese, and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.
Prepare scallops:
Pat scallops dry and season with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté scallops, turning once, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. If scallops are not cooked through, reduce heat to moderate and cook about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and discard any oil remaining in skillet (do not clean skillet).
Cook butter in same skillet over moderate heat until it foams and turns light brown. Add sage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in oil. Season with salt.
To serve:
Put each pumpkin shell on a plate, fill with risotto
— Gourmet, October 2001
TOMATO RISOTTO
Makes 6 servings
3 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth
Scant 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium fennel bulb, fronds chopped and reserved for garnish, stalks discarded, and bulb finely chopped (2 cups)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Core tomatoes and cut a shallow X in bottom of each, then blanch tomatoes in boiling water 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking.
Peel tomatoes using tip of a small paring knife, then halve tomatoes crosswise. Squeeze juice from tomato halves through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding seeds. Finely dice tomato flesh.
Bring stock, water, saffron, and tomato liquid to a simmer in a medium saucepan and keep at a bare simmer.
Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until foam subsides, then add fennel and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it turns opaque, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, then add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot tomato-saffron stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, 18 to 25 minutes total (you will have some stock left over).
Stir in diced tomatoes, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Thin with stock if desired.
Serve topped with chopped fennel fronds.
— Gourmet, July 2008
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