Asparagus and Prosciutto Risotto

Having tasty ingredients on hand makes working on a new recipe so easy. I know people have made asparagus risotto before and it sounded fairly bland to me, so adding prosciutto seemed a good idea. Adding a really good balsamic seemed a good idea too, but in reality, it wasn't. So as Nana would say, "Do as I say, and not as I do." and skip the balsamic. Its sweetness just muddles the flavors.

Ingredients:
1 lb arborio rice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4C water
1 small red onion
16 asparagus spears
1C freshly grated Parmigiano
3T extra virgin olive oil
3oz sliced prosciutto
basil flavored olive oil

Directions:

The very first thing to do is to is to boil the water and bouillon cubes. Once that is accomplished, you can add some olive oil into the risotto pan and saute the diced onions until translucent, then the rice. Trim off the spear heads from the asparagus and dice the stems so you can add them to the rice. Start adding the broth one ladle at a time and stir it into the risotto. Next thing to do is to chop and lightly saute the prosciutto, reserving half for the finished dish.

Add half of the prosciutto with the last ladle of broth and cook until finished. If it is not quite done add extra water until the rice is cooked.

Take the pan off the heat when the rice is al dente and add the grated cheese, then stir in until it melts. Steam the asparagus spears.

You may add some basil oil to taste before or after you plate the risotto. After plating add the reserved prosciutto and asparagus spears.




This dish is worthy of serving to company as a main course or as the first course of a holiday meal. I'm really glad I attempted making it and it has inspired me to do my own take on other traditional risotti recipes.

Saffron Artichoke Risotto

As the owner of at least 6 books devoted entirely to the subject of risotto, I know there are many recipes, but this was developed when only pecorino cheese was available.

Ingredients:
2 cups arborio rice
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 medium yellow onion
12 small fresh artichokes
1 large pinch of saffron threads
3T extra virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 half lemon





Cooking Directions:
Peel the artichoke tough outer leaves until the flesh looks yellow green in color and the resistance is weaker than when you started peeling. Cut off the top 3rd and cut lengthwise, soak in acidulated water.

Heat olive oil in a 6 quart nonreactive saute pan over a medium-high flame.

Add finely chopped onion and when the onion is translucent, add the rice, saute, add the saffron, stir, then when the rice looks opaque lower the heat to medium, add thinly sliced artichoke hearts, stir, then add the wine.
After the wine has cooked down, start ladling in the chicken broth one cup at a time until it is completely used or until the risotto is cooked al dente.
Take off heat, add the Pecorino Romano, stir until melted, plate and serve after letting it rest for 5 minutes.

Porcini Risotto

This has to be my favorite risotto as I keep going back to it again and again. While the recipe is a classic taught to me by Fr. Luciano Lodolini, the proportions are my contribution.


Ingredients:

2C arborio or carnaroli rice
one medium yellow onion
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1/2C extra virgin olive oil
3/4C dry white wine (Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio)
6C chicken stock
1C freshly grated parmigiano or grana padano cheese
white or black truffle oil (optional)

Directions:



Heat the chicken stock. Cut the onion into a fine dice and set aside. Crumple the dried porcini into small pieces and set aside. In a 6 quart saute pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, add the rice and saute until the rice has a white opaque look to it. Add the porcini, stir, then add the wine.

Preparation Notes:

The first photo ( click to enlarge) is good at showing the opaque quality you are looking for after you have sauteed the rice sufficiently. The second is a good indicator that the rice is absorbing the wine and stock. If you ever wondered when you should add more stock, it is when the starch is forming streaks on the bottom of the pan. If you prefer your risotto very al dente, you may wish to test it before adding the last of the chicken stock.


After the wine is fully absorbed, add a ladle or two of the hot chicken stock. Stir, let it absorb and add another ladle. Continue until all the stock is absorbed.


Take the pan off the heat and add the grated cheese. Plate and serve. I often use more that one cup of cheese and am not a stickler on measuring it. If you look at the cheese photo and see the cubes of cheese in it, 3 of those are a good amount.


Drizzle a small amount of truffle oil over the top for an added layer of flavor.

Risotto Tartufo

I'm sure this recipe has been made tens of thousands of times considering the ingredients, but I put it together for the first time when looking through the pantry for ideas. It should be measured against a published recipe for the fun of it. Once you know how to make a risotto, you really don't need recipes, just add new ingredients to the basics of rice, broth, onion and cheese.


Ingredients:

1 1/2C arborio rice
4C chicken or mushroom broth (for a vegetarian version)
2T truffle paste or 1T minced black truffle
1 large yellow onion
1 1/4C grated parmigiano
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Fine dice the onion and saute in olive oil over a medium flame in a wide bottomed pan. As soon as the onions soften, add the rice and saute until you see the characteristic opaque white look of sauteed rice, then add a cup of the stock. Traditionally you should heat the stock, but I seldom do that and still come up with a good result. As the stock absorbs into the rice, add more stock.

After the first 2 cups of stock are absorbed into the rice, add half of the truffle paste, stir to incorporate and then add the 3rd cup of stock. I don't know if adding the truffle at this time gave the risotto a stronger truffle taste or not, so next time I may experiment and delay in adding the truffle just to see what happens.

After adding the last cup of stock, stir it until it is almost fully absorbed and add the last of the truffle or truffle paste, taking the pot off the heat. The grated parmigiano should be added and stirred in now. Place a lid on the pan and rest 5 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Flower Risotto

Some delightfully delicate sauces have been made with zucchini blossoms and I've always savored them when available to order. Finding baby zucchini in the Alemany Farmer's Market inspired me to try this risotto. Next time I'll peruse recipes from Italian cookbooks for a cream sauce, but this time I decided to experiment. How can one go wrong with fresh vegetables?

Ingredients:

2C yellow & green zucchini

15 small zucchini flowers

1 large yellow onion

1 1/2C arborio rice

1C dry white wine (chardonnay)

1 64oz can of chicken broth

1 1/2C grated grana padana or parmigiano

extra virgin olive oil

unsalted butter

Directions:

After removing all the flowers, wash, thinly slice and coarsely chop the zucchini. Take the stamens from the flowers and toss, setting the blossoms aside. Finely dice the onion and saute in the olive oil until translucent, then add the zucchini and saute a few minutes more, adding more oil if necessary. Add the rice to the pot, sauteing until the rice looks opaque, now add the wine and continue cooking and stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Add the stock one cup at a time until it is absorbed, stirring all the while.

Chiffonade the blossoms and stir into the risotto before adding the last cup of chicken stock. After you have added the stock, stir until the stock is almost fully absorbed. It will look thickened and milky.

Add about 2T of the butter and stir until the risotto is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed, take off the burner and add the shredded cheese. Mix until nice and silky and then plate.