Daily Dinner Table
Ideas for dinner tonight. Household and kitchen tips, recipes, tweaks. What's worked great, and not so great.
Vegetable Risotto
The beauty of a risotto is you can put whatever the heck you want in it. Spring vegetables, like tonight’s version, might include asparagus, zucchini, squash, artichoke hearts, peas. Winter veggies could be Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower for example. The trick for making a creamy risotto is take your time! Add small amounts of the liquid slowly, and stir slowly till each addition is absorbed. Oh, also even more important is to use a short grain rice. Aborio is perfect for risotto. When you can get Porcini mushrooms, give them a go in your version of risotto. It’s a classic Italian dish, and quite delish!
Here’s a guide recipe for this risotto. Remember, use what you like! Cook the veggies or whatever you’re including first. Set aside in a bowl until the rice is done, & gently fold into the rice.
2-3 slices onion, diced
1 1/2 c aborio rice
1/2 c white wine
6-8 c chicken stock
( or vegetable, beef, whatever goes best with your ingredients)
1 1/2 c frozen peas thawed
A bunch of asparagus, ends cut off, discarded & cut into thirds
1/2 a zucchini sliced & halved
1/2 squash sliced & halved
6 Artichoke hearts halved
1 1/2 c raw spinach
2 t minced garlic
Pancetta
Shredded Parmesan
2-3 T chopped chives
In large pan over medium low heat, heat olive oil. Cook pancetta till crispy. Remove pancetta & set aside. Add asparagus & any vegetables that need a few minutes to cook. Remove from pan & set aside when asparagus still has a little firmness to it.
Add onion & garlic to the pan, cook till onion begins to soften & begins to brown. Add rice to onion mixture. Stir to completely blend & rice begins to pick up the color. Add the wine, stir. Add 1 c of the liquid, stir to absorb. As the liquid absorbs, add 1/2-1 c more liquid, stirring to deglaze and absorb. Keep adding liquid small amounts at a time, stirring gently. This should take about 20-30 minutes. Add enough liquid overall to make rice a creamy consistency, while cooking rice to al dente. Soft, but still a touch of firmness. You may meed more or less liquid than the amount stated in the recipe. Gently fold cooked vegetables into the rice. Add raw spinach, stir gently till spinach wilts. Spoon into bowl, top w reserved pancetta & sprinkle with shredded Parmesan & chopped chives
Enjoy!
Daily Dinner Table 