Asparagus & Mushroom Risotto

Rice was a staple in my husband's family growing up, but it's not something I could eat everyday.  Risotto is a great dish that brings together my Italian heritage with his Hispanic heritage.  Growing up there were two risotto dishes that were a staple in my house (made by either my mom or my nonna): mushroom risotto and a meat/tomato "red" risotto.  While I have never attempted to make the red one, mushroom risotto is something I make often enough.  I love playing around with different ingredients to add in a risotto.  Once you are familiar with the method, it is really easy to change up the ingredients.  This time around we happened to have a lot of asparagus sitting in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I added it into the risotto. 

If you've read any of my other risotto recipes, you'll recognize this one.  It is essentially the same with the asparagus added.  Unfortunately, my measurements may be a little off as I tend to eyeball risotto when I make it.  It doesn't hurt to have extra broth simmering away; you can always refrigerate it and use it for something else another time if there's leftovers.

This risotto was so creamy and delicious.  The asparagus is sliced up into tiny pieces so it's kind of hidden away from the kids, but it does give the dish a green hue.  I sometimes buy sliced mushrooms to save time, but I find they are often sliced into huge pieces.  So I give them a quick chop as well.  This will also hide the mushroom away if people in your house are not fans.  My recommendation when it comes to the oil and butter is to always add more if it is looking dry or sticking to the pot.

Make sure all your veggies are chopped and ready to go before you start cooking the rice because once you start, you are pretty at the pot until it is cooked.

Ingredients:
5-6 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth (stock)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp butter
1-1/2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 bunch asparagus (rough ends trimmed), thinly sliced with tops reserved
1 pkg (225g) mushrooms, thinly sliced
4-6 scallions, thinly sliced; reserve green tops
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup (or more) Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce and simmer over low heat.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a deep pan over medium-low heat.  Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the rice is coated and translucent.  Add more butter or oil if necessary. [If you like, at this point you can add a splash or two of white wine for extra flavour.  The rice will soak it right up almost immediately.]

3.  Add more butter and oil if necessary before adding the celery, scallions and asparagus (not the tips).  Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes before adding the garlic then cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add the asparagus tips and oregano.  Season slightly with salt and pepper.

4.  Add the broth, one or two ladlefuls at a time.  Stir constantly to prevent sticking and burning.  Add more liquid, 1-2 ladlefuls  at a time, as the liquid absorbs.  Increase the heat to medium so the liquid bubbles, but lower it slightly (or add more broth) if the broth gets absorbed too quickly (almost immediately).  Continue adding broth and stirring until the rice is fully cooked and creamy.  The actual amount of liquid used will vary.  This whole process should take around 20 minutes.    Season with salt and pepper.

5. Remove from heat and stir in one tablespoon of butter and the Parmesan cheese.  Plate the risotto and top with more cheese if desired.

It will be very hot (but delicious).  I often spread the risotto in a thinner layer on the plate so it cools faster, and work my way inwards on the plate.

Enjoy and let me know how it turned out for you!

Barley "Risotto" with Rosemary Focaccia

My husband loves barley and  always says I don't make it enough.  I'm not sure why that is.  Perhaps it's because the kids don't love it as much as he does or maybe it's the time it takes to make it.  After his request for barley for tonight's dinner, I came up with this after browsing many recipes.  If you have all the veggies chopped and ready to go in advance, the recipe isn't as time-consuming prep-wise.  Whether you use water or stock for this recipe doesn't really matter, as long as you have at least 5 to 6 cups of liquid.  This time I used half water and half chicken broth and also added a chicken bouillon cube for some extra flavour.
This makes a very large batch of barley.  This will easily serve 6 people as a main dish with even some for leftovers.
I paired this with a rosemary focaccia bread that tasted great dipped in this barley (and was the real star for the kids).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 pkg (227g) sliced cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
1 cup pot barley, rinsed
5-6 cups liquid (water and/or broth)
1 bouillon cube (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, until tender but not browned.  Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally until they release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

2. Add the barley and stir to coat.  Add your liquid (start with 5 cups) and soy sauce and bring to a boil; add the bouillon cube if using.    Reduce the heat to low, simmering gently.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

3. Add the carrots, celery and dill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the spinach and chickpeas, cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until barley and vegetables are tender.  Add more liquid if necessary to ensure the barley doesn't stick.  There should be a small amount of liquid left and the barley should have a bit of a "bite" to it. (If you'd like this "risotto" to have more of a soup-like consistency, add even more liquid [ideally stock for more flavour].) 

4. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rosemary Focaccia
This is really quick to prepare if you have dough ready to go (homemade or store bought).  The dough recipe below will make two round pizzas or one large rectangular one.  If you are dividing it in half, you can easily refrigerate it overnight or freeze for up to 2 months.  If you are freezing it for later use, wrap the dough in plastic wrap first and then place in a freezer bag.  To thaw, unwrap the dough and place it on a plate for about 3 hours to let it reach room temperature.  Before using the dough make sure it is at room temperature. 

Ingredients:
2-1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3-1/2 cups flour

Focaccia topping
1 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary
coarse sea salt
black pepper

Directions:
1. In a bowl put the water, sugar and yeast and let it stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). 
2. Add the salt, olive oil and flour and mix using the dough hook until it comes together.   I find it best to knead the dough with my hands for a bit to form it into a smooth ball. 
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down.  Knead into a smooth cylinder and divide it in half.  Knead each half to form 2 smooth balls, dusting with flour if sticking.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. To make one round rosemary focaccia, you will use one ball.  Lightly grease a round pizza tray and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place the dough on the prepared sheet and stretch the dough from the center outward to the edges of the pan.  (If the dough is too tight, let it rest for another 10 minutes before trying again.)  Cover the flattened dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 450F.   Make dimples in the dough with your fingertips.  Drizzle with olive oil and spread around.  Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. 
7. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Cut the focaccia into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

Mushroom & Parmesan Risotto

I've always wanted to make risotto, but have never actually had the courage to try it.  I've seen my mom and grandmother make it before, and I've even helped them, but it always seemed like a daunting task to me.  But today I finally decided to try it and it turned out quite nicely!

My granddmother and mom always make a mushroom risotto; it is one of their staples. This is the recipe from a cookbook called RIsotto by Clive Tring. It is very similar to my family's recipe but has more vegetables in it.  And for some reason I think they may use white wine, but I really don't know for sure about that - I should probably check that out...

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used my chicken stock from my slowcooker recipe)

2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tbsp butter

generous 1 cup risotto rice 

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 red (or green) bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 pkg (225g) mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a pan, then reduce the heat and keep simmering gently over low heat while you are cooking the risotto.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a deep pan.  (A deep pan is better than a wide pan because the rice might be spread out too thin and burn easily.) Add the rice and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, until the grains are thoroughly coated in oil and translucent.

3. Add the garlic, onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the oregano.

4. Gradually add the hot stock, a ladleful at a time.  Stir constantly and add more liquid as the rice absorbs each addition.  Increase the heat to medium so that the liquid bubbles.  Cook for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy (you may not need all the stock, and sometimes you may need more liquid).  Season with salt and pepper.

5. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in another tablespoon of butter and half of the Parmesan until it melts.  Transfer the risotto to plates and top with the remaining cheese.

Notes: The risotto turned out really nice - all that time sitting beside it, stirring and making sure it wasn't over or under cooked was totally worth it in the end.  For my first time, it turned out really well and I will definitely be making risotto again (I really do love it so much!).  The key is the amount of liquid - the rice has to be fully cooked.  If you don't put enough, the rice won't be fully cooked and can be quite hard.  If you put too much, the rice will turn mushy and soggy. This time I did not use all 4 cups of stock; I probably had at least a ladleful left over.

And of course I forgot to take a picture of my dinner until I was halfway through my bowl of risotto! So the picture below is okay.