I bought a few pumpkins this week with the intention of making pies and breads, but all the pumpkin soup and stew recipes made me want something savory. I also love to make risotto, and I thought pumpkin might just pair nicely with the creaminess of the rice, so I grabbed a pumpkin and made up this risotto. I cooked the pumpkin and leeks in the bacon grease, which was a great idea. It was definitely more than the sum of its parts. Delicious!



( details below the cut )

Hello everyone!

I have a simple question. I'm a big fan of risoto but I'm not quite sure to what extent I should cook it. Is it suppose to be realy mushy or somewhat like overcooked rice (tender and creamy)? Last time I tried it turned out OK but I think the rice was still a bit undercooked.

Oh and I use Arborio rice. So if anyone has a suggestion on how to make great risoto  plz help

Thanks  =)

Btw, Food_porn rules!!!!

I splurged and bought a smoked trout to add to a risotto.

Is there anything I can do with the leftover skin and bones? Apart from throwing it in the bin.

I make it a point to periodically revisit foods that I don’t like.

This is especially true if someone introduces a new idea for making that food different from versions I had before.

As a general rule I prefer creamy things creamy. I do not like lumps in my creamy goodness. Fruit is occasionally acceptable but when it comes to chewy or crunchy (except bruled sugar) in my creamy I am out.

As such I am not a fan of either tapioca or rice pudding. My tongue stumbles and skips over the chewy bits in an effort to enjoy the intervening smooth textures. This is only exacerbated by the addition of raisins. Thick opaque liquid plus chewy bits and raisins to me feels like the set up of a very bad movie joke.

Still when someone suggested that I should try rice pudding with Arborio rice, I was game!

tonight, i opted for something simple but hearty, so i made this for dinner.

very simple but very very yummy and plenty for leftovers.

Risotto!

I will say it again. Risotto!

It is a word that strikes a note of both fear and longing in the home cook!

It looks so tempting there on the restaurant menu. Creamy and flavorful, it is the kind of food that most people reserve for going out. It feels decadent with its silky texture and extraordinary flavor. The kind that whispers of a long slow cooking process.

It is a celebration food. It feels special because it feels like it requires significant culinary prowess to master – or in the very least a diploma from a culinary school.

But that is not how it started. Risotto is peasant food. And it is no harder to make than any other stew. Just requires a touch more effort.

But just a touch!

I had some fish stock in the freezer and found some arborio rice in the pantry. I also needed to use up some onion and garlic. That's all I needed.,.. oh wait... is that saffron in the back of the pantry there?

This was a great appetizer for a party I recently had--they are best served hot.
If you follw, egg and bread them before hand, the cooking goes quickly and people eat them almost as quickly as they can fry up. Undercooking the risotto seems to be the secret to a cohesive ball.

Risotto balls (arancini)

Make Risotto
Saute finely chopped, medium size onion in butter
Add 12 OZ uncooked risotto.
Sautee a few minutes.
Add 1 cup wine. Stir and heat through until wine is gone
Add 1 cup hot chicken broth, or veggie (I used almost 4 cups of hot broth total)
Add finely chopped oregano and basil
Alternate adding broth, stirring and reducing for about 18 to 20 minutes.
The risotto will be firmer than you would normally serve it.
In the last ten minutes
Add a couple of finely chopped shallots
Grate in the peel of half an orange

Remove from heat,
add a half cup of grated romano
8 oz of coarsely ground mozzarella.
Mix together,. Chill.

Heat oil. (I used canola.)
Make risotto balls, slightly larger than pingpong balls,
Roll balls of risotto into a couple of beaten eggs
Coat in dried bread crumbs.
Fry in heated oil, until a nice medium brown
( I kept the oil about five inches deep.)

Eat with a nice Insalate Caprese, and a glass of red wine!