Some people consider making creamy, perfectly al dente risotto one of the greatest cooking challenges there is. But patience and attention can lead to greatness. This week, share your best risotto recipe with us. The sky's the limit in terms of grains and additions, but please no sweet risottos!
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Starting at 12 o'clock, butter, fennel, mascarpone, shrimp, preserved lemon, mint, peas, garlic, rosemary, asparagus, arborio rice, lemon, Pernod and onion.
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The shrimp are deveined but the shells are left on, a preparation called "cleaned for grilling." We had it done at a local fish shop -- and we recommend doing the same!
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Regular lemon, and preserved lemons.
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You want to scrape out the belly, or flesh, of the preserved lemon and discard it before chopping the rind.
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The marinade for the shrimp: olive oil, Pernod, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
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Perfectly blanched asparagus!
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For this dish, it helps to have everything prepped and ready by the stove before you begin cooking.
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After sauteeing the fennel, onion and garlic, you pour in the rice and then stir it around, doing your best to toast it.
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Rather than wine, you add Pernod (an anise-flavored liqueur) and lemon juice.
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Then chicken broth, ladleful by ladleful.
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Fresh peas!
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After the peas go in, you add the preserved lemon, butter and mascarpone.
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Which makes it looks creamy like this.
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Don't forget the shrimp, which have been marinating all this time. Place them under the broiler for one minute, and off you go!
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Amanda inspects the parsley carefully. It passes muster.
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On to mushrooms. We used a combination of baby bellas and shiitakes.
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Pancetta, olive oil and butter. Need we say more?
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In go the mushrooms, to brown and crisp along with the pancetta.
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At this stage, you remove the mushrooms and pancetta with a slotted spoon -- setting them aside for later.
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In goes a bit more olive oil and some shallots.
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Abra Bennett calls for carnaroli rice, which we immediately fell in love with. Toast it for a few minutes before adding liquid.
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Next, you add some red wine, which turns the rice a lovely shade of pink.
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To cook the rice, you gradually add a mixture of beef and chicken stock.
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The mushrooms and pancetta go back in just before the rice is cooked, so that the rice takes on some of their hearty, earthy flavor.
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A little butter, some parmesan and a sprinkling of parsley, and we're finished!
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