Ruth's Risotto Primavera

A few weeks ago we received an assignment from Chef Luke, "basically you'll be doing a book report." EXCUSE ME?! A book report?! I couldn't help but feel like I was back in 3rd grade and my teacher, Ms. Elsbury, would doling out a similar assignment about Beverly Cleary's Ramona series. My first thought, REALLY?! Being in the later part of my 20's isn't exactly the time I would want be facing a book report. However, after a little more explanation about the report, I found that we actually had a lot more freedom. Chef Luke clearly stated he did not want us to pick a cookbook, but rather, a book about "food". So I set to work, first researching my options for "food books". I had a few in mind, which I had found on Amazon.com (trusty 'ol Amazon), and headed for Powell's.

To my surprise there was actually a wide variety of books purely about food! I suppose I had never really fathomed that people could write and read so many facts or stories pertaining to food! I immediately dove right in and pulled out my top three. As I read the first few pages of each, I quickly discarded the few that clearly could not keep my attention and I was finally left with this one...

Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, it had immediately caught my attention in the first few pages, which I must re-iterate is a tough thing to do (blame it on a case of self diagnosed ADD), anyway I couldn't put it down and found myself sitting on the ground in the Home & Body section (aka the Orange Room) getting through the first chapter. The thing I immediately enjoyed about Ruth's book is the way she writes, I couldn't help but respect a woman who 1.) drooled over food as much as I do 2.) is still a respected food critic 3.) was able to relay her amusing stories of her life as the New York Times food critic in a time when there wasn't a whole lot of people jumping at the idea of sushi!! And finally I loved that she shared her own recipes with her readers. This is what brought me to make my VERY FIRST dish of risotto.

To me risotto always just seemed like a fancy shmancy way of making rice, and I have to be honest, I still think of it that way. HOWEVER, I do have a new found respect for risotto and I also see why people enjoy the rich flavors and tastes it brings to a meal instead of just being like plain Asian white rice, which usually just defuses the flavors of other foods. Risotto also has a very different consistency, it has more of a bite to it, a lot like pasta cooked al dente, and matched with the creamy wine sauce it was absolutely heavenly!

Risotto Primavera
½ pound asparagus
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock *I used a mixture of homemade and canned, I'm a student and if I got paid to make everything from scratch I would, sadly I live in the real world:-p*
½ teaspoon saffron strands, crumbled *we had the cheapy kind in our spice cabinet, worked just fine*
 3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 smallish carrot, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup thawed frozen peas
½ cup Parmigiano cheese, plus extra for the table
Salt and pepper to taste

 

Cut off the tips of the asparagus and set them aside. Dice the top half of the stalks (discard the rest), and set the diced asparagus aside.

 

 Bring the stock to a steady simmer in a saucepan. Remove ¼ cup of the stock. Add saffron and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and cook
*on medium* for about 6 minutes, until its golden.

Add the carrot and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the zucchini, diced asparagus, and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook for about 5 minutes more.

Add the carrot and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the zucchini, diced asparagus*I didn't add the asparagus to mine because my dad can't eat it, I had pre-cooked it and added it at the end for extra color*, and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir until it is coated with the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Now slowly add enough simmering stock to cover the rice, and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Keep adding, stirring, and evaporating for about 20 minutes, until the rice is soft on the outside and still has a bit of a bite at the center.

Add a few more spoonfuls of stock, remove the pan from the heat, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the cheese. Taste for salt and pepper, and serve with extra cheese for people to add to their own taste.

I decided to follow the white wine theme and cook up some chicken in white wine sauce. The meal was a perfect little bistro-esque dinner that I can't wait to cook up again!! I hope you enjoy the recipe and I will probably be cooking up more as I continue to find these recipes in this very entertaining book!!