Tag: Arborio Rice

Charred Ramp Arancini

Tomorrow is one of my favorite events of the year: Flavors on the Avenue! I’ve written past posts about this event, but this year, they are switching things up a bit. The event, usually held under a tent, is coming out onto the street to make for what should be a pretty awesome five block street festival tomorrow, April 30 from noon to 5 pm.  The event will be held around the Singing Fountain at the intersection of S 11th, Tasker and Passyunk.

Tickets aren’t required to attend the event, although they are strongly encouraged. Cost is $50 each and include all of the dishes, two glasses of beer or wine, and valet parking – a $130 value. You can also pay as you go; each dish will be priced at $3 to $6. Further details can be found here.

East Passyunk Avenue is known for its fantastic restaurants, and a bunch of them (27!) are participating in this event. There will also be free kids’ activities and a crafter’s market. Here is a list of participants and the food they will be serving: (note: options shown in photos above are in bold)

  • Bing Bing Dim Sum: Pork Buns, Corn Rangoon
  • Birra: Pizza slices, plain and pepperoni
  • Brigantessa: Chorizo Cotto with whipped ricotta and peas
  • Cantina los Caballitos: Tacos al Pastor, Elote, Classic and Cucumber Margaritas
  • Chhaya: Fried chicken and waffles, Iced coffee
  • El Sarape: Tacos al Pastor, Pina Coladas
  • Fond: Salmon Tartare with sesame, nori and avocado
  • Izumi: Pork Gyoza
  • Laurel: Chocolate egg cream pudding pops
  • Le Virtu: Octopus and chick pea salad
  • Mamma Maria: Cheese ravioli
  • Marra’s: Mozzarella pizza
  • Noir: Arancini balls, watermelon salad
  • Noord: Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs with nutmeg and mustard)
  • Paradiso: Arancini Di Riso
  • Perla: Pork Belly, Adobo with garlic rice
  • Plenty Cafe: Choripan (Traditional South African sandwich with chorizo, chimichurri, and pickled red onion on a baguette)
  • POPE: Zucchini feta fritters, Cashew teriyaki
  • P’unk Burger: Pulled Portobello sandwiches, Caprese pesto burgers
  • Sate Kampar: Achat (carrots, cucumber, peanuts and chile sauce), Sago Gula Melaka (sago pearls, coconut cream, palm nectar) and Chicken Sate
  • Stargazy: Sausage Rolls, Potato Masala Rolls, Sticky Toffee Sundaes
  • Stateside: House-made steam buns with duck confit, peppadew and radicchio
  • Stogie Joe’s: Meatballs with Toasted Bread
  • Townsend: Roast pork sandwiches
  • Tre Scalini: Tripe in Umido
  • Vanilya Bakery: Buttercream cookies, Buttercream cupcakes
  • Will BYOB: Caramelized onion crepes, Banana and caramel crepes

I had the opportunity to go on a media tour a try a bunch of these bites. Noord’s Bitterballen remains one of my favorites (they serve it every year, and every year I love them). New to Flavors is Sate Kampar, and all of their offerings are fantastic! Absolutely go try the Achat, Sago Hula Melaka, and Chicken Sate.

One of the restaurants on the media tour was Brigantessa. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my high praise for their Charred Ramp Arancini. They were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, Brigantessa is not serving these for Flavors, but is serving Chorizo Cotto with Whipped Ricotta and Peas that sounds right up my alley as well. There will be plenty of arancini available though, a few restaurants are serving it.

I wanted to try my hand at making the Brigantessa Aracini, so here goes! I adapted this recipe to include charred ramps, which adds a slight onion flavor to the cheesy rice ball.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ramp leaves, charred

Continue reading Charred Ramp Arancini

Blueberry Mushroom Risotto

Blueberry Mushroom Risotto. Hear me out. I know you read the title of this post and probably thought I’ve officially lost it. But I promise you this is amazing. I first heard about this bizarre combo in a book called The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. This book is fantastic. It lists pairings, common and strange, to help make your cooking a bit more adventurous. I page through it all the time, and have learned some yummy pairings. But the one that has stuck out to me the most is the mushroom and blueberry combination.

Apparently northern Italy cooking commonly pairs fruit with mushrooms according to the book. Who knew? My fellow Philadelphian (and internationally known chef) Marc Vetri also has a porcini and blueberry lasagna in one of his cookbooks: Il Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey.

So when I found myself the proud recipient of a bunch of mushrooms from To-Jo Mushrooms, I knew it was finally time to try it out. It has been a really crummy, rainy day so I was craving comfort food. Risotto is a perfect rainy day food: hearty, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I’m a huge fan of mushroom risotto so I was excited to try this spin on it. In the past, I’ve made a traditional Mushroom Risotto, as well as a Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup shallots, sliced
  •  3 slider mushrooms, sliced (or 2 large portobello mushrooms)
  • 1/4 cup assorted dry mushrooms, optional (I used a mixture of morel, chanterelle, and trumpet mushrooms)
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Blueberry Mushroom Risotto

Scarborough Fair Cornish Game Hens with Risotto

Do you remember the first recipe you learned how to make? One that was probably so simple, but made you so proud when you had completed the dish? Mine (besides grilled cheese) was a chicken recipe my mom referred to as “Chicken a la Simon and Garfunkel” based on the lyrics in their song Scarborough Fair:
Are you goin’ to Scarborough Fair? 
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there, 
she once was a true love of mine.
I knew the song so I was able to help make dinner by seasoning the chicken and keeping my mom company while humming the tune to the song (which I have to assume was more of a distraction than a help.. I’m a truly awful singer and I’m sure that translates into a truly awful hummer as well).
I figured this was as good as any time to learn how to roast a chicken. So I settled on Cornish game hens seasoned and stuffed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. I also made a “Scarborough Fair” Risotto to go with the chicken.
Ingredients: (I was making this for a family dinner but lowered the amounts to happily feed 2. Multiply as needed).
  • 2 Cornish game hens
  • 1 tablespoon each of dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (divided)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 lemon
  • 4 sprigs each of fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
  • 6 small shallots, divided
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup uncooked arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
  • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Continue reading Scarborough Fair Cornish Game Hens with Risotto

Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto

As I hear rumblings of all things pumpkin just around the corner (yay!), I realized that my days of beautiful, fresh vegetables are numbered (boo). Which means I needed a recipe that used some of summer’s best. This risotto recipe from Cooking Light fit the bill: Asparagus, Sugar Snap Peas, Zucchini, Yellow Squash.. mmm.
Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half
  • 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 (8-ounce) zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 1 (8-ounce) yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 4 3/4 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
  • 1/4 cup beer (I used a pilsner)
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Continue reading Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto

Beet Risotto

I love the taste of beets, but preparing them is so time consuming that I tend to avoid buying them. Most recipes involving beets require you to roast the beets and then peel them. I came across a recipe for beet risotto in Food and Wine that just cooked the beets on the stove top in significantly less time. This risotto recipe is supposed to turn a beautiful red color from the beets. I didn’t get the same bright red color but I still love how it looks!
Ingredients:
  • 3 cups chicken stock or water
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 large beets peeled and finely chopped, plus thinly sliced beets for garnish
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 2 ounces young pecorino cheese, freshly grated
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, plus more for garnish

Continue reading Beet Risotto

Guest Post from Christina of Spaghetti & Meatballs

I am so excited to announce my first guest post on I Can Cook That! I couldn’t ask for a better first guest poster. This delicious risotto recipe comes from Christina of Spaghetti & Meatballs. I’ve mentioned on here quite a few times my affinity for risotto. It was actually the first dish I made that helped me realize cooking isn’t nearly as difficult as I imagined. This particular risotto is a must try: the creaminess you expect from a risotto without the 30 minutes of constant stirring!
 
But first, a little bit about Christina and her blog. Christina invites us to explore Italian through her blog. She is a truly wonderful writer (she works as a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area) with posts that contain not only recipes that make your mouth water, but information about Italian food products (tomatoes, pasta, etc.), commentary on interesting articles from magazines, and a look into some of her family’s Italian food traditions. Definitely take the time to check out her blog, it is a great source of information, recipes, and just an overall great read!

So before I ramble on, let me pass it on to Christina:

Risotto is so deliciously decadent that it can turn any dinner into a special occasion. But despite my soft spot for the dish, risotto was relegated to the once-in-awhile section of my recipe book. Every risotto I’d made required significant prep time – including at least 30 minutes of nonstop stirring as the rice cooked.
Then I found a Real Simple risotto recipe that sounded too good to be true. Instead of constantly stirring, waiting for the rice to thicken, you just pop the entire pot into a preheated oven. I’d never heard of making risotto this way, but since Real Simple is one of my favorite recipe sources, I decided to take the leap.
Ingredients:
(this makes 4 servings)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup frozen peas
4 ounces flat-leaf spinach, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce), plus more for serving
Heat the oven to 425° F. Melt the butter in an ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot is soft.
Pour in the wine and stir until it has almost evaporated. Then stir in the broth and rice. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Cover the pot and put it in the preheated oven. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, about 20 minutes. (While the risotto cooked, I had plenty of time to chop spinach and grate Parmesan for the next step.)
Stir in peas, spinach, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Sprinkle with additional Parmesan and serve.
The risotto turned out just as creamy and rich as others I’ve made the traditional way. I’m thrilled I found a time-saving technique for one of my favorite dishes that doesn’t sacrifice taste for convenience.
I can’t believe I’ve made it 26 years of my life without knowing this technique. It’s brilliant! And the colors are just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this with us Christina! To check out additional recipes and posts from Spaghetti & Meatballs, pop on over to her blog!

Champagne Risotto Primavera

I still have some prosecco sitting around after New Years Eve that I don’t want to go to waste. It’s already open so there’s really no way to save it. I usually use leftover wine in my risotto, so why not use sparkling wine instead? After all the food I ate in the past week, I thought I should probably incorporate some vegetables into my risotto as well. I adapted a Weight Watchers recipe to incorporate the sparkling wine.
 
Ingredients:
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup uncooked arborio rice
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup champagne, prosecco, or other sparkling wine, divided
  • 1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • fresh parsley, chopped

Continue reading Champagne Risotto Primavera

Mushroom Risotto

This past weekend, Kennett Square held it’s annual Mushroom Festival. I unfortunately didn’t get to go this year, but my parents dropped off a variety of mushrooms for me. When I have a lot of different types of mushrooms, my go to recipe is a mushroom risotto.

Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
  • 2 cups assorted mushrooms, sliced (I used oyster, shiitake, portobello & trumpet)
  • 1/2 a small onion, chopped
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Continue reading Mushroom Risotto

Corn, Tomato & Basil Risotto

After a weekend of brownie and brie baking, I’m back on track making normal meals. Keeping with my tomato-corn themes, I was happy to find a recipe from Fine Cooking that included both of these ingredients. Even better, it is also a risotto!
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups of frozen corn kernels
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. torn fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

So I chickened out this time on the corn. Out of my last batch of a half dozen corn cobs, 5 (FIVE!) of them had worms. Goo. I understand it is very difficult to grown corn organically, but I needed to just take a step back from the whole surprise-in-my-corn.If you are using fresh corn, click on the link above to see the original recipe, I used frozen kernels for mine so I had to adapt the recipe accordingly. You will need three corn cobs.

Add the chicken broth to a pot and heat over medium-low heat. In another saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat.
Add the wine and cook until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Ladle in 1 1/2 cups of the warm broth into the saute pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth is absorbed (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add a 1/2 cup of broth at a time, waiting until the broth is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup.
Combine the tomatoes,olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the basil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
I’d be happy just eating this!
About 16 minutes into the cooking of the rice (you’ll still have broth left), stir in the corn. Continue to add the broth in 1/2 cup increments until the rice is creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes in total.
Remove from heat and add the Parmigiano cheese and tomato-basil mixture. Top with the remaining basil and serve.
Somehow, this risotto was light and refreshing. I loved the sweetness from both the tomatoes and corn, it tasted like summer! I ate the leftovers from this the next day for lunch and it held up really well, which is always a plus.

 

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