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Italian rice at its finest: 'Risotto' cookbook is luscious

Risotto is so special that reputations both amateur and professional have been established on the quality of this unique and luscious offering. The secrets, if there ever were any, are revealed so clearly in “Risotto: with vegetables, seafood, meat and more” by Maxine Clark (Ryland, Peters & Small Publishers).

The detailed instructions almost guarantee success and certainly mitigate any less-than-wonderful results. With practice your risotto will be better. However, with these simple recipes from the book…or if you treat yourself to the book, you will be serving rice that will raise everyone’s culinary eyebrows just a notch or two.

My only suggestion is to practice maybe once or twice before inviting your fussiest gastronomical friends or neighbors. There is the technique of adding ladles of broth slowly to the simmering rice that does require a bit of experience to get it right… the rice kernels are firm but not hard and the whole of the dish creamy and succulent with several nuances of flavors.

Ah, such grandeur for such ubiquitous kernels proving once again the fabulous feats of cooking are possible if you are willing to stretch your comfort zone.

All of the recipes in this book have broth as an ingredient. The author provides her own recipes for all of the broths. Here is her suggestion for a proper light (not heavy) chicken broth.

Light Chicken Broth

3 ½ lb. chicken wings

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 onions, coarsely chopped

1 whole small bunch celery, including any leaves, trimmed, coarsely chopped, then washed

1 large fresh bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and parsley stalks, tied up with kitchen twine)

A few black peppercorns

Cut the chicken wings into pieces through their joints. Put these into a large soup kettle with the carrots, onions, celery, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Add water to cover, about 4 quarts, and bring to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, reduce to a simmer, stir and skim, then continue to cook at the barest simmer for 3 hours, skimming often.

Remove from the heat and strain the broth into a bowl through a colander lined with cheesecloth.

When cool, discard the contents of the colander. Cool the broth and refrigerate for several hours. Remove from the refrigerator and lift off any fat that has set on top of the jellied broth. At this stage you can reboil the broth to concentrate it, or cover and refrigerate or freeze until needed. This stock will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Makes 2-3 quarts

“When you have nothing except risotto rice in the pantry and a chunk of Parmesan and some butter in the refrigerator yet feel the need for comfort and luxury, this is risotto for you…”

Parmesan and Butter Risotto

6 cups hot light chicken broth

1 stick plus 3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 ½ cups risotto rice

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the broth in a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer. Melt half the butter in a large, heavy saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for 10 minutes until soft, golden and translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir until well coated with the butter and heated through. Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove any raw alcohol taste.

Begin adding the broth, a large ladle at a time, stirring gently until each ladle has almost been absorbed by the rice. The risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout cooking, so don’t let the rice dry out – add more broth as necessary. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains still firm. (This should take 15-20 minutes depending on the type of rice used. Check the package directions.)

Taste and season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the remaining butter and all the Parmesan. Cover and let rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax and the cheese melt, then serve immediately. You may like to add a little more broth just before you serve, but don’t let the risotto wait around too long or the rice will turn mushy.

Pesto Risotto

6 cups light chicken broth

1 stick unsalted butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 ¼ cups risotto rice

2/3 cup dry white wine, optional

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pesto Genovese

2 cloves garlic

½ cup pine nuts

1 ¼ cups chopped fresh basil leaves

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For pesto, put everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Put the broth in a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer. Melt half the butter in a large heavy saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for 10 minutes until soft, golden and translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir until well coated with butter and heated through. Add the rice and stir until well coated with butter and heated through. Add the wine, if using, and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove the taste of raw alcohol.

Begin adding the broth, a large ladle at a time, stirring gently until each one has been almost absorbed into the rice. The risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout the cooking, so don’t let the rice dry out – add more broth as necessary.

Continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains still firm. (This should take 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of rice used. Check the package instructions.) Taste and season well with salt and pepper, then beat in the remaining butter.

Cover and let rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax, then serve immediately. You may like to add a little more hot broth to the risotto just before you serve to loosen it, but don’t let it wait too long or the rice with turn mushy. Serve in warm bowls with a large spoonful of pesto in each or spoon liquid pesto over the entire surface before serving.

The author writes, “The leek is one of my favorite vegetables… it’s not used enough. Its sweet, delicate onion flavor is an excellent complement to salty cooked ham. Try to find ham sold in pieces so you can tear it into shreds; it will be more succulent than sliced ham. Roasting garlic softens and mellows the flavor until it is almost nutty.”

Ham and Leek Risotto

6 large garlic cloves

About ¾ cup olive oil

1 lb. leeks, plus 2 extra

6 cups Light Chicken broth

About 2 ½ cups risotto rice

1 tbsp. grainy mustard

12 oz. cold ham, shredded, about 2 cups

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Safflower oil for cooking

Peel the garlic cloves and put them in a small saucepan. Cover with olive oil and heat to simmering. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the garlic is golden and soft. Let cool in the pan.

Cut the 2 leeks into 3-inch lengths, then slice in half lengthwise and cut into long, thin shreds. Fill a wok or large saucepan one-third full of the safflower oil and heat to 375 degrees, add the shredded leeks and deep-fry for 1 minute until crisp and just golden. Lift out of the oil, drain on paper towels and set aside.

Slice the remaining leeks thinly or thickly, as you like, into rounds. Put the broth in a saucepan and keep at a gently simmer. Heat 1/3 cup of the garlic-flavored oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the leeks and sauté for a few minutes until beginning to soften and color slightly, then stir in the garlic cloves. Pour in the stir and stir until well coated with oil and heated through.

Begin adding the simmering broth, a large ladle at a time, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed by the rice. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy but the grains still firm. Stir in the mustard and ham. Season well, stir in the Parmesan, cover and let rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax before serving topped with a mound of fried leeks.

 

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