I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend. My husband and I are getting out of dodge for a little while. We are heading South for some sun, fun and relaxation! We are probably some of the small few at the airport not “technically” traveling for the actual holiday.
I am writing this post a week early knowing I will not be making much on vacation even though we are renting a house with a kitchen. I am pretty sure I won’t be making anything new to share but I will be taking lots of pictures of most of my meals and will share with you what’s happening out on the Island of Anguilla in my next blog.
Risotto
Ingredients
- 1½ Cup Arborio Rice
- 1 Quart Chicken Stock
- ½ Cup White Wine
- 1 medium shallot or small onion chopped finely
- 3 Tbs unsalted butter
- 1 Tbs Olive Oil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
- 1 Tbs chopped Parsley
- Kosher Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped shallot or onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent.
- Add the rice and stir briskly with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so; until there is a slightly nutty aroma. Don’t let the rice turn brown.
- Add the wine and cooking while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed. Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process.
- Note: It’s important to stir constantly, especially while the hot stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry.
- The rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches. Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20-30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. If you run out of stock and the risotto still isn’t done, you can finish the cooking using hot water. Just add the water as you did with the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring while it’s absorbed
Notes
always add hot liquid never cold
stir often
taste to make sure it has cooked thoroughly
wait a day or two before making your rice cake. Freeze each cake and then fry in a hot pan
I was craving risotto and it isn’t too often I will order it out. It is not something that gets better with time nor does it like to sit and wait for someone to order it. Not saying that you shouldn’t order it you do you; I just make a mean risotto at home so I am kinda spoiled! I made some the other night for dinner and of course I always make too mucha and have some left over. As I mentioned it doesn’t get better so I usually make Risotto balls aka arancini or rice cakes. I already have some arancini in the freezer so I had been thinking about what I could do with it differently. I wondered how it would be as a crispy rice cake with a poached egg on top and It was exactly as I thought it would be. It was so good I will be making this again soon!!! I also fried up some sausage to go along side.
It is best to wait until the next day for the risotto to dry out a bit; shape about a 1/2 cup of risotto into a cake and place on a sheet pan or something that will fit into your freezer. You’ll want to freeze the cakes for at least 30 minutes it helps them stay together while frying. Preheat either a non stick or cast iron pan. add a little oil and fry on both sides till browned.
What would I do differently? I would maybe add fried sausage to the risotto before making it into a patty instead of putting it on the side or maybe use a sausage patty and stack everything up. The sausage patty was my husband’s idea, I figured I could add the cooked sausage to the rice cake and my daughter thought maybe make it into an eggs benedict which sounds delish too. I am sure I will be playing around with this!
