Garlic & Veggie Risotto

Risotto is a well-loved dish in my household and I'm always looking for ways to change it up.
I recently saw a post by Lidia Bastianich for a garlic risotto which sounded interesting but I was hesitant about the amount of garlic and lack of other veggies.  I made a few modifications, but I now have no doubt the original would have been wonderful the way it was!  You could easily pick any vegetable or combination of veggies for this risotto.

Needless to say, this risotto was a huge success!  The kids ate it up and the husband was very impressed.  This served our family of four with a protein and salad, with leftovers for another day. 

Ingredients:
7-8 cups chicken stock
2 cups arborio rice
1 head of garlic (approx. 14 cloves), peeled and crushed
1 cup white wine
olive oil
salt to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped green beans
1/2 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Directions:

1. Bring the chicken stock to simmer over medium heat and season with salt.

2. In a frying pan over medium heat, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.   Toss the green beans red peppers and cook until tender.

3. Puree the garlic and white wine in a blender or food processor.

4. In a large, shallow pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until they are tender, but not starting to brown, about 5 minutes. 

5. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the rice, stirring constantly until the grains are coated in oil and translucent, about 2 minutes.  Add the wine-garlic puree and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

6. Ladle in about 2-3  ladlefuls of stock, stir and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed.  Repeat this process, adding in a couple of ladlefuls of stock each time the liquid is mostly absorbed, until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.  With about 5 minutes left, add the green beans and red peppers.

7. When the rice is al dente, turn off the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary.  Serve immediately (with more cheese if you like!)

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.

Veggie Risotto

My husband grew up on rice, but I get bored of it quite easily.  We didn't eat rice very often at home unless it was risotto.  So every once in awhile I will make a risotto (usually mushrooms) because that pleases everyone.  I was visiting my nonna and she was talking about a zucchini-saffron risotto she made and I thought to myself Why not try something like that??

So while this is in no way her recipe, it was definitely inspired by her!  While my LO tried to pick out some of the vegetables, overall it was a huge success with everyone in the house!

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, halved and chopped (or quartered if it's a big one)
2 small green peppers, seeded and sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
1.5 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3-4 tbsp butter, separated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or mixed with Asiago cheese)

Directions:

1. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a small saucepan.  (If you don't have chicken stock handy, use a bouillon cube in boiling water.  Make sure you follow the package instructions and make enough for the risotto).

2. Saute onions until translucent over medium heat in oil and butter.

3. Add garlic and pepper and saute for a few more minutes until tender.

4.  Add zucchini and tomato and cook until softened; add more butter if necessary.  Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add 1 tbsp butter and rice and stir until rice becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

6.  Add 1/2 cup white wine and stir until absorbed.  Add chicken stock by the ladleful/s and stir until absorbed.  Continue to add stock until the rice is cooked, about 45-50 minutes.

7.  Remove from heat, add 1 tbsp butter, then the freshly grated Parmesan (and Asiago) cheese.  Stir.  Season with salt if necessary.

This serves great with a nice salad or even bruschetta as a side.

Veggie Risotto

The yummy bruschetta side dish

Sautéed Veggies & Pork Cutlets

Today I stopped by the grocery store and just browsed around waiting for some type of inspiration for dinner.  I saw some fast frying pork cutlets and knew right away I could use that, so I made my way to the veggies and picked up some zucchini and spinach.  I was going to pick up some broccoli as well, but remembered that I had some frozen at home so left them behind.  I had a good idea of what I wanted to make for dinner!  The problem for the blog is that I didn't really  measure my ingredients and just eye-balled it.

Sautéed Veggies

Ingredients:
1 onion, thinly diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli florets (or broccoli cut into small florets)
2 small zucchini, halved and then sliced
1/2 cup spinach
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. If using fresh broccoli, cook in boiling water for about 3 minutes until tender.  If using frozen broccoli, follow instructions (ie: microwave with water for 3-5 minutes or boil until tender).
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pan.  Add onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes until softened; add garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
3. Add zucchini, tossing to coat, and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender.  Season with salt.  Add broccoli and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Tear the spinach in half or thirds and add to the pan.  Cook, tossing to combine, until the spinach is wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat and grate Parmesan cheese over top.

Breaded Pork Cutlets

This is a pretty easy thing to bring together.  All you need is some thin pork cutlets, bread crumbs, an egg and oil for frying.

1. Beat an egg and place the cutlets in the egg to coat.  Drip off any excess.
2. Coat the cutlet in your favourite bread crumb mix (I like Italian breadcrumbs), patting down to make sure the crumbs stick and the cutlet is fully coated.
3.  When you are ready to fry, cover the bottom of a pan with enough oil for frying.  Heat over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, place the cutlets (in batches) in the oil.  Don't overcrowd the pan as it will lower the temperature.
4. Fry the cutlet about 4 minutes on each side, until it is golden brown, turning once.   Remove from oil and place on paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil.  Fry the remaining cutlets.

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.