Roast pumpkin, fetta, pinenuts. Really simple: basic risotto with garlic, white wine and chicken or vege stock, roast pumpkin until caramelised, toast pinenuts, serve topped with pumpkin, pinenuts, crumbled fetta, preferably sheep milk, finely chopped chives, cracked black pepper and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. I often use a raspberry infused oil and it is a brilliant flavour, garlic infused oil would work too, as would roasting some garlic with the pumpkin and squeezing it into the risotto at the last minute.
Chicken and mushroom is always good, too. I saw a recipe for a saffron, prawn and 'something' risotto once but for the life of me can't remember what the other ingredient was. Maybe asparagus would be nice?
Fennel, Roast Pumpkin and Chicken
Duck, Orange and Asparagus
Spinach, Pea and Mushroom
Scallops, Mussels and Fennel
Basil and Lemon
Chicken, Bacon and Pea
Apple & Thyme
Spicey Sausage and Leek
Spinach and Mushroom
Beetroot and Horseradish
Spinach, Gorgonzola and Walnut
The possibilities are endless...great way to use up the contents of your fridge....what do you have to use up?
Imho the key to a great risotto is the stock that you use - I usually start making a fresh stock whilst I'm preparing the other ingredients and then just ladle hot fresh stock from one pan into the other as I need it.
You can alter the taste of the risotto by tailoring the stock to suit - if you are adding veggies to the risotto then add some of trimmings, leaves, etc to the stock pot - add some chopped tomato or tomato puree for a deeper colour and flavour - herbs that will survive the boiling - bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, curry leaves are all good additions.
Last edited by TheBear; August 24th, 2008 at 09:19 AM.
Jamie Oliver does a great mushroom one. You cook the mushrooms (heaps of them) down in butter first and add rosemary and thyme. Then in another pan, cook a basic risotto with butter, white wine, veggie stock, etc and towards the very end, right before you add the cheese you put the mushroom mixture through it. Its absolutely gorgeous! Oh I want some now, might have to rethink dinner plans!
I use Jamie Oliver's base recipe as I find it is delightfully creamy. The sky is the limit for adding your flavours, some of our favourites are;
Prawn & Pancetta
Lemon & Pea
Mushroom (I use swiss, oyster, porcini & field for a really 'meaty' flavoursome result)
Broccoli & Bacon
Seafood (I use prawns, scallops & barramundi or swordfish)
Pumpkin, fetta & pine nut.
IMHO the secret to a great risotto is two fold, one is taking the time to ladel the stock in and gently massage the creaminess out of the rice. The second is is using lovely fresh herbs to season the dish ... I always add herbs with the butter just before serving and it makes such a difference to the layers of flavour.
Have fun ... yummmmm love risotto!!
KAZ76, glad to see Jamie has another fan! I agree that the two pan approach is a good one, particularly with seafood as it means you can prevent your seafood from being overcooked, rather adding it to the rice at the last minute for a perfect result
Last edited by tsgirl; August 24th, 2008 at 10:29 AM.
: Missed Kaz76's post
I made a rissotto following a recipe, a mushroom one but I was really dissapointed that it wasn't creamy. Should you substitute water for milk or cream to get a creamy version?
The creaminess comes from the starch released by the rice during the cooking process - you need to use a good quality risotto rice and stir it pretty much continuously to maximise the release of starch.
They don;t turn out as 'creamy' I guess for want of a better description, Bear. Well, not as creamy as maybe I am expecting.
I used to have a risotto cookbook (may still have it in the shed, but I'm pretty sure I discarded it for lack of use) and tried making one or two from that, but I wasn't very happy with the result.
When I make 'risotto' (or should I say 'a dish with rice in it that looks like it could be related to risotto'), its just got onion, butter, rice (whatever is in the cupboard, not even risotto rice ), stock (read: water and stock powder), tin tomatoes, maybe some tomato paste, and herbs. Pretty sure that's it. Soften onion in butter, add rice, stir well to coat, add everything else, stir often on low heat until rice cooked and water absorbed. Add grated cheese (usually tasty, not even parmesan! ) at the end.
When I have tried to make 'proper' risotto (hot stock/liquid, added a bit at a time), it took AGES to cook, and the rice didn't even cook properly with the directed amount of liquid.
It's critical that you use a proper risotto rice like arborio. These have a much higher starch content than other rice varieties and like Bear said, it's the release of starch that gives it the creaminess. The stock should be added a little bit at a time, and stirred continuously, only adding more when the last lot is absorbed. Yes, it should take a while, and I find that risotto usually uses more liquid than directed. Good things take time, and like a proper custard, or good gnocchi, it's worth doing properly.
It also helps to gently fry the rice in the butter or oil until the grains are translucent, then start adding the stock. I usually add a good splash of white wine before the stock and reduce it.
Last edited by suse; August 25th, 2008 at 04:30 PM.
: added something
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
whats the best risotto??
Yes its extravagant, but its so worth it!
), stock (read: water and stock powder), tin tomatoes, maybe some tomato paste, and herbs. Pretty sure that's it. Soften onion in butter, add rice, stir well to coat, add everything else, stir often on low heat until rice cooked and water absorbed. Add grated cheese (usually tasty, not even parmesan!
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