Barley and Mushroom "Risotto"

Technically this is not a risotto because it uses barley and not rice, but the cooking technique is virtually the same. This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking Vegetarian and it is touted as a side dish, but I served it as our main dish with no modifications and a side of steamed broccoli. As with traditional risotto this recipe will take about an hour to cook.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup pearl barley
2/3 cups white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 cups vegetable broth

1. Warm the broth on the stove, but do not allow to simmer or bowl. Be sure to have the broth close to the burner where you will be making your 'risotto'.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it foams, add the onion and mushrooms cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the barley and stir until coated with the butter. Add the salt and pepper.
3. Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly until all liquid is absorbed. Stir 2 cups of broth into the 'risotto'(this is a change from the typical style of cooking risotto) and cook, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing for the liquid to cook and be absorbed as with traditional risotto.

Serves 6, 1-cup servings: 256 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber

Risotto Primavera

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes to cook. It is impressive, yet deceptively simple to make, realy the secret to risotto is time and patience. Nothing more, nothing less. Check out my general risotto making tips, here.

This recipe appeared in the June 2010 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I changed up the cooking process a bit and of course I tossed the chicken broth out! This recipe could easily be made vegan by using a soy cheese in place of the parmesan or by leaving the cheese out all together. With the lemon juice and tomatoes added at the end of this dish I don't think you would even miss the parmesan cheese.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
2 shallots, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cups frozen green peas
12 ounces asparagus, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ounces grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Toss 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and tomatoes together in baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomatoes have burst open and are blackened a bit. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Heat the water and broth together over medium heat in a sauce pan until warm. Do not boil and have this sauce pan near the burner where you will be making your risotto.
4. Heat the reamining 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer add the shallot. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the shallots are beginning to be a little translucent. Do not let them burn. Add the rice and cook for about 1 minute or until the rice is every so translucent at the edges. Stir in the vinegar and stir constantly until the vinegar has been completely absorbed by the rice. From here you will begin adding your broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Do not add more broth mixture until the last addition has been completely absorbed by the rice. I liken it to the parting of the "Rice Sea". You want to run your spoon through the rice and you will see an opening for the escaping Isrealits, but you want it to close up quickly on the other end to trap the Pharohs armies. Please see the photograph in this post. The process of adding the broth and stirring and waiting will take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Add the peas and asparagus to the last cup or so of broth. You can will continue to add the broth along with the vegetables to the risotto. But remember do not add more broth until the last portion is absorbed. Continue until all the broth is incorporated and all the vegetables have made it into the pot.
6. Remove the risotto from the stove and add 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese, 3/8 teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice.
7. Spoon 1 3/4 cups of the risotto into each of the four serving bowls; and top evenly with tomatoes. Top each serving evenly with the remaining Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
8. Serve warm.

Two Mushroom Risotto

This recipe is adapted from a recipe found on allrecipes.com. Risotto is a deceptively hard dish. All it really takes to make good risotto is planning, patience and time. Check out my risotto cooking tips here.

6 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese shredded

1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over a low heat. Keep it warm and at arms reach.
2. Cook the mushrooms in batches in a 12 inch skillet by warming 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 lb of mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and set aside with their liquids. Proceed the the remaining 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms until all have been cooked.
3. Wipe you skillet clean and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, and add the shallots. Cook for 1 minute. Add the rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 1 minute. When the rice has taken on a golden translucency, add the wine, stirring constantly until all the wine is fully absorbed.
4. Add 1/2 cup of warm broth to the rice, stirring constantly until the broth is absorbed by the rice. Continue add in the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, this should take about 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter until melted. Then add the mushrooms and Parmesan cheese and mix until combines. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   

Fresh Corn Risotto with Basil, Tomato and Lime

This recipe was adapted from The Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian. The recipe calls for fresh ripe tomatoes and fresh corn and implies that this is a perfect Summer dish. I am sure that fresh from your August garden corn and tomatoes would make this dish all the better, but I live in Northern California were temps can be well over 100 degrees in the Summer. I for one do not make risotto in the Summer. If it is 100 degrees outside, I can guarantee you it is 120 degrees over that pot of rice. I make this in the cooler months and rely on frozen corn and store bought hot house tomatoes.

1 cup diced, seeded peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine tomato, basil, lime juice and salt. Set aside.
2. Bring broth to a simmer and keep warm.
3. Cut kernels off of cob, if using fresh. Steam until just cooked. Puree one cup of the corn kernels in a food processor.
4. Heat a large saucepan, add the butter. Cook over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the rice and stir until coated with the butter.
5. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until broth is absorbed. Continue to add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, cooking and stirring each time until the liquid is almost completely absorbed before adding more broth, this should take about 15 minutes and you will use 2 cups of broth in this step.
6. Stir in the pureed corn and another 1/2 cup of broth, cook and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue to cook, stirring and adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, as needed until the rice is tender but with a slight firmness to the center of the grain, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
7. Remove from the heat. Add the corn kernels and the tomato mixture, stir until the liquid from the tomato mixture is absorbs.
8. Spoon into warmed bowls and sprinkle each serving with grated Parmesan cheese.

General risotto tips

• Use the right kind of rice. Arborio rice should be your first choice.
• Use a large, heavy saucepan and NEVER cover the cooking risotto.
• Time: risotto takes time! You have to be patient. Do not rush the rice when it is absorbing the liquid. Expect to spend 20-30 minutes just on tooking time and DO NOT try and multi-task while cooking risotto. You have to stir the rice almost constantly.
• Have all your ingredients ready and at hand. Have the broth on one burner and rice going on the other. I keep my broth on a medium-low heat to keep it warm. Pre-measure the size of your ladel so that you can simple ladel your broth into your rice. That way you do not have to fool with using a measuring cup for each 1/2 cup of broth.

This is an example of rice that is ready for more liquid. It should look like the spoon is parting the rice sea. Please ignore the broth can in the middle of my stove. This is left over from filling up the other saucepan with broth. DO NOT put cold or cool broth into your rice.

Baked Risotto

Baked Risotto
the basic recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

This fabulous recipe can get risotto onto your table without all that stirring. As much as I love classic risotto, this recipe is great time saver. This is an ovo-lacto recipe, but you could very easily substitute the cheese for a vegan cheese.

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

4TBSP unsalted butter

1 onion, minced

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups Arborio rice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover and keep the broth warm over the lowest heat possible.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until lightly browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the edges begin to turn translucent about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until it is completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.
• Spread the rice mixture into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Pour the warm broth over the top. Bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Stir in the Parmesan cheese

Serves 6 Calories:331, Fat: 6.5, Sodium:380.5 The nutritional facts were compiled using TheDailyPlate.com

For the broth, you can make your own. It is really easy and there are recipes all over the place. I will post one here soon. If you do not want to make you own or you do not have time you can always buy store bought canned broth. If you do, I highly recommend Swanson's broth. Other canned vegetarian broths have ZERO flavor. You can also use bullion cubes or something called Better Than Bullion (also called soup starter). Both of these work well, but beware they do have a lot of sodium in them.

An aside for almost all my recipes: when a recipe calls for you to salt and pepper to taste...I usually do not. I find that it is nearly impossible to taste something that is temperature hot. So, I just let my eaters salt and pepper their food at the table.