Salmon Risotto ~ Parsley Walnut Pesto

Salmon Risotto

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup minced shallots, or yellow onion
2 cups risotto rice (see above for varieties)
1/2 cup Marsala or white wine
6 cups salmon stock, or low-sodium chicken stock
6 ounces flaked, cooked salmon
3 tablespoons pesto
Black pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat the butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the minced shallots and sauté, stirring often. When the shallots are soft, add the rice and stir well. Cook, stirring often, a few minutes, then add the Marsala or white wine. Stir constantly until the liquid has mostly evaporated. 

Start adding the stock 1 cup at a time, stirring it in well. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook this, stirring often, until the liquid has mostly been absorbed. Repeat with another cup of stock, and so on until the rice is tender, but still a little al dente. It's possible you will need another cup of liquid. If this is the case, use water. 

Once the rice is about ready, stir in the salmon and the pesto and cook another few minutes. You want your risotto to be loose enough to serve in a bowl, not a plate, so add water if need be. Grind some pepper over it and serve.  Serves 4

Notes
Keep in mind this works just as well with trout or char.
Keys to Success  When you add the stock or water, it needs to be at least room temperature, or warm. So if you want to speed things up a little, put all the stock in another pot and bring it to the steaming point.
It is the stirring that makes good risotto. No getting around it. No matter what someone may tell you, you need to stir risotto to get that starchy creaminess. Comes with the territory. 

As I mention above, the salmon or trout can be leftover, smoked, poached or whatever. I rarely cook salmon just for this recipe.
Any pesto will do. Store-bought basil pesto is nice and easy, but if you can make it or find it, a parsley-walnut pesto goes better with the salmon.

Parsley Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:

3/4 cup walnuts, pecans or pine nuts
1 cup chopped parsley, tightly packed

1/2 cup finely grated pecorino or Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped
Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Put all the ingredients except for the oil into a large mortar and grind to a stiff paste. Once everything is pretty well ground, drizzle in about a quarter of the olive oil and grind it into the pesto. Repeat with another quarter of the oil and then another, until you have incorporated all the oil into the pesto.

Alternately, you can put everything but the oil into the bowl of a food processor. Buzz the mixture while slowly drizzling in the oil. The more oil you use, the more like a sauce and less like a condiment your pesto will be. 

When the pesto is coming together, taste for salt, and add if needed. Serve your parsley pesto right away, or put in a covered container with plastic wrap set down right on the top of the pesto to keep out air. This help keeps the color nice and bright. Use within a couple days, or freeze for up to 6 months.  10 Servings

 

Stovetop Fennel and Sausage Risotto

Stovetop Fennel And Sausage Risotto

Ingredients:

6 cups low sodium chicken or beef broth

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1/4 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casing removed, sausage crumbled

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups Aborio or Carnaroli rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

Boiling water as needed

3/4 cup finely grated Romano cheese

Aged Balsamic vinegar for garnish.

Directions:

Pour broth into a pan and bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and place a lid to keep it warm.

To a large saucepan or straight sided skillet, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter.  When the butter melts and the foaming subsides, add fennel cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and about 6 to 8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a mixing bowl using a slotted spoon or spider.  Set aside.

Return the saucepan to medium heat add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sausage.  Cook until sausage is no longer pink breaking into small pieces, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.  Transfer to bowl with fennel with a spider or slotted spoon.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat and return saucepan to medium heat.  Add shallots and rice  and cook stirring constantly until rice is evenly coated with oil and shallots are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add wine and cook until pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes.  Add more wine and cook until pan is almost dry about 3 more minutes.

TIP:  To determine when liquid should be added, using a spoon, drag it in the center of the cooking rice.  If the space allows the bottom of the pan to show, more liquid is needed.  If the space shows liquid, continue to cook the risotto until more liquid is absorbed.

Using a ladle, add about 1 cup of hot broth and return hot broth to the rice, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Add additional broth 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly and  adding more broth only after the previous addition has been absorbed.  The risotto is done after about twenty minutes, when it is creamy and the and the rice grains are plump and tender.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter, fennel, sausage, and Romano cheese.  Adjust consistency with a little broth or water.

To serve, ladle risotto into 4 warmed shallow bowls.  Top each with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

Beer-Glazed Pork Tenderloin With Gruyere And Cranberry Risotto

BEER-GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH 

GRUYÈRE And CRANBERRY RISOTTO

This dish has all the taste sensations covered— sweet, salty, tart, bitter and even umami, which is delivered by the Gruyère cheese. A helpful tip is to warm the stock in a measuring jug in the microwave. It can then be easily poured right into the pot. Using a pan that just fits the tenderloin will help avoid getting scorched areas on the surface of the pan, which will make for a better glaze.

Gruyere And Cranberry Risotto

2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

1 cup (250 mL) shallots or onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp (30 mL) garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp (10 mL) fresh thyme or sage, finely chopped

Pinch of salt

1 cup (250 mL) arborio or carnaroli rice

1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice

4 cups (1 L) beef stock, warmed

¼ cup (60 mL) dried cranberries

2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter

½ cup (125 mL) good quality Gruyère

or Emmenthal cheese, grated

Pork Tenderloin

2 medium pork tenderloins, about ¾ lb (375 g)

each, cut into halves if needed to fit pan

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter

2 tsp (10 mL) fresh sage, finely chopped

½ cup (125 mL) beer, preferably the St-Ambroise

2 tbsp (30 mL) apricot jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Start with the risotto. In a large pot or saucepan heat oil over medium. Add shallots, garlic, thyme and a pinch of salt. Cook until shallots are fully tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in rice, combine well with shallots. Add lemon juice. Add enough stock to come to the surface of the rice. Stir well. When the stock has been absorbed continue to add stock ½ cup (125 mL) at a time, adding more when the last addition has been absorbed. Continue adding stock until the rice is al dente (or tender but not mushy), about 20 minutes. If the rice is still too firm and all stock is used continue to cook with water. Stir in cranberries during the last few minutes of cooking.

Just before serving, stir in 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter and Gruyère until melted.

While risotto is cooking, season pork generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.

In an ovenproof pan that just fits the pork, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter over medium-high. Brown pork all over, about 10 minutes total.

Place pan in preheated oven and cook to internal temperature of 150°F (65°C). Remove pork from pan, cover with foil to keep warm.

In the same pan, add remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, sauté sage for 1 minute over medium. Add beer and apricot jam. Reduce over medium heat to desired consistency.

Slice pork and serve on top of the risotto. Drizzle with reduced glaze.

Serves 4     Recipe of Tonia Wilson-Vuksanovick

Caramelized Onion And Fennel Risotto

Andrew Scrivini for The New York Times

Caramelized Onion and Fennel Risotto

Ingredients:
1 small bulb fennel, sliced thin
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter, divided (use Earth Balance to make it vegan)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 ½ cups dry white wine


In a heavy pot or Dutch oven melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium low heat.  When butter is melted and add sliced onions and fennel.  Stir until well coated.  Cover pot and cook for 10 minutes.



Stir in salt and sugar. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently until onions are dark brown, about 25-30 minutes.



Simmer broth in a separate pot on the stove.


To the onions and fennel, add garlic, Arborio rice and herbs. Cook, stirring frequently until the rice is translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes. 






Add wine and cook, stirring frequently, until fully absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. When the wine is fully absorbed, add 2 cups hot broth and simmer, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes until liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Stir in another 1/2 cup of hot broth and cook, stirring constantly until absorbed. Repeat with additional broth 2 or 3 more times, until rice is al dente. 






Remove risotto from heat and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and Parmesan. Serve.

Spring Risotto

Spring Risotto
Big Sur Bakery

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup english peas, shelled
1 1/4 cup fava beans, shelled
1 cup fresh corn kernels
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Aborio or Carnaroli rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 1/2 cups chicken stock, warmed
2 whole scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (about 1/4 cup)
2 cups rich beef broth*

*

Directions:

Fill a medium bowl with water and put about a dozen ice cubes in it and set it aside.

Bring a quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add 1 tablespoon salt, and blanch the peas in the boiling water until they are bright green and tender, about 3 minutes.  Immediately strain out the peas (reserving the water for the other vegetables) using a colander to place them in the ice water to stop them from overcooking and retain their color).  Let them cool for 2 minutes.  Reserve the peas and repeat the same process with the fava beans (3 minutes in the boiling water), and corn 5 to 7 minutes in the boiling water).

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and add the onions. Season them lightly with salt and pepper and sweat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter..  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to sear the grain-this step will ensure the risotto will have a bite to it.  Deglaze the pan with the wine, and simmer it until it has evaporated.  Then add 3 cups of the warm chicken stock, and cook stirring continuously, until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.  If necessary, continue cooking, adding the remaining 1/2 cup stock if the risotto starts to dry out. The risotto is ready when it is al dente, with a thick creamy consistency.

*

Stir in the blanched peas, fava beans, and corn kernels, along with the scallions, Parmesan and remaining 1 tablespoon butter.  Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Place the risotto in individual bowls and ladle the beef broth around it, and serve.

*

Rich Beef Broth:

1 quart beef broth

1/2 onion

1/2 carrot

1/2 celery stalk

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 garlic clove

1 bay leaf

1 flat leaf parsley stem

Kosher salt and black pepper

*

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 40 minutes.  

*

Strain, put the liquid back into the saucepan, and reduce by half.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4