Cookbook

Cookbook / Michael Smith / Recipe / Side Dish / Special Event — View Comments
25
Jan 10

Chef at Home with Michael Smith::Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart

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At one of our recent YouCook meetings, we were talking about giving back to the community. Thu had volunteered at a food bank in Vancouver and was inspired by the people there. Elaine told us about Cook for the Cure, where if you host a dinner through their site, KitchenAid will donate $50 in addition to any funds you raise for breast cancer research. Hosting a party through Cook for the Cure gives you some nifty tools, such as online donation and automatic generation of tax receipts. So I decided to host my very own Cook for the Cure party! It was a great opportunity for me to try some of the recipes from Michael Smith’s “Chef at Home” cookbook.

Upon flipping through the Chef at Home cookbook, I came across the recipe for Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart. It was essentially layers of potatoes, cheese, onions and garlic, all wrapped up in bacon. With ingredients like that, how could this taste anything but delicious? It sounded like a perfect side dish to go along with my Apple Roast Chicken and looked impressive too.

Summary

Preparation Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 3 hours
Servings: 8
Meal type: Side Dish
Cost: $8.02 ($1.00 per person)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients

  • 2 lb (1 kg) of bacon, at room-temperature ~ $5.99
  • lots of freshly ground pepper
  • 4 cups (1 L) of shredded aged cheddar ~ $1.11
  • 5 large baking potatoes (unpeeled) ~ $0.62
  • sea salt
  • 1 onion, minced ~ 0.25
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced ~ $0.05

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350°F (180°F).
2. Carefully arrange the bacon in a radial pattern from the centre of the bottom of a 10- or 12-inch (25 or 30cm) round non-stick baking pan, continuing up and over the sides. Let the ends hang over. The slices should overlap slightly around the sides of the pan. To reduce the thickness of the bacon in the centre, stagger every other piece, starting it 2 inches (5 cm) from the centre and extending it further than the adjacent slices.

3. With the palm of your hand, flatten the centre area, leaving no gaps in the bacon. Season the bacon with lots of pepper and then sprinkle on several spoonfuls of the shredded cheddar.

4. Slice the potatoes as thinly and uniformly as you can, about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. I used a mandoline to help me do this quickly and uniformly.


5. Arrange a circular pattern of overlapping slices around the inside bottom edge of the pan. Continue arranging overlapping layers of the potatoes until the bottom is evenly covered. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

6. Mix together the onion and garlic and sprinkle some of the mixture onto the potatoes. Continue with a layer of shredded cheese.
7. Continue with a layer of the shredded cheese. Cover with another layer of the potatoes, pressing it down firmly before continuing with alternate layers of the potatoes, onion mixture and cheese, insetting each a bit from the edge of the pan until the top is 1 inch (2.5 cm) or so higher than the pan’s rim.
8. Fold the overhanging bacon neatly up and over the top of the potatoes.

9. Trim a small piece of parchment paper and place it in between an oven-proof lid and the bacon. This will prevent the bacon ends from pulling back and shrinking during cooking.
I didn’t have a lid, so i used tin foil to fold tightly over the pan instead.
10. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for at least 2½ to 3 hours. You’ll know when it’s done when a small, thin bladed knife inserts easily.
The baking sheet is key – I didn’t do it and a lot of oil dripped to the bottom of the oven. I spent a lot of time cleaning it the next day!
11. Pour off as much of the fat as possible. Let the tart stand for 15 minutes and then invert it onto a cutting surface.
12. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.

Quick Notes

Take note of the baking time – it’s long (3 hours)! The first time I made it I didn’t realize and only got to it an hour before I wanted dinner ready. I did a short cut by boiling the slices of potatoes first, which I think worked out alright, but the bacon was a bit under cooked. Definitely make sure to bake it for the full 2½ hours.

Variations

Michael Smith’s cookbook has a “Freestyle Variation” with every recipe. For this recipe, he suggests: “Try mixing a few spoonfuls of your favourite fresh herb into the onion mixture. Thyme, rosemary and tarragon all work well”. I didn’t really try any variations since I didn’t have any fresh herbs, but I can see it working well with what he suggests.

Results


This required a lot of work in terms of prepping the ingredients and arranging the bacon, but the results were impressive. Everyone liked it at the dinner party. I found the bottom of the tart a bit crispy and tough – not sure if it’s supposed to be like that. Other than that, the bacon, potatoes, cheddar cheese and onions go really well together and is a great side dish. With the amount of work involved, I don’t think this will become part of my everyday repertoire, but definitely a great side to pull out for a fancier party that’s sure to impress!

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Cookbook / Michael Smith / Vegetarian — View Comments
19
Jan 10

Chef at Home with Michael Smith: Ratatouille

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Before the movie Ratatouille came out, I had no idea what the dish was. After the movie, the name stuck with me but I never did look up how to make it or what the story behind it was. During my 6 month Vegetarian cooking adventures, a number of people told me to make Ratatouille but again I never did! Well finally, I was sent the book, Chef at Home with Michael Smith and the page appeared before me – I absolutely need to get to the bottom of this Ratatouille curiosity.

So the first impression was hey, this is a fancy french name for a veggie stir fry dish. I’ve absolutely made this before! :) Although I don’t think I ever used the exact combination of vegetables, peppers and herbs as called for in the recipe. So I learned that there’s different schools of thought about how traditional Ratatouille is supposed to be made. One way is to saute all the vegetables together. However Julia Child and of course Michael Smith in the recipe I followed is to saute groups of vegetables separately and layer it. Also, Michel Guerard came up with a variation called Confit Byaldi which replaced the peppers with mushrooms. The major advancement was instead of using rough cut cubes of vegetables, Guerard used thin slices. Then last but not least, Thomas Keller modified this Confit Byaldi to demonstrate to the producer of Pixar’s Ratatouille how to make this dish! The recipe for the version in the movie can be found here with pictures or from the NY Times. I will have to make this dish again following that recipe!!

But I digress. Back to Michael Smith’s Ratatouille. The vegetables are cut into 1 inch thick chunks. And there is no baking involved in his recipe – unlike the ones I had found online! Perfect.

Summary

Preparation Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 4-6
Meal type: Main
Cost: $9.37 (It fed 2 people + 4 or 5 meals in the next few days)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant – cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) chunks – $2.07
  • 1 zucchini – cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) chunks – $0.43
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks – $1.14
  • 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks – $0.81
  • 1 onion, sliced – $0.64
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped – $0.50
  • 3 garden ripe tomatoes – cut into 1-inch chunks. – $1.78
    Alternatively he suggests using 1 can of whole tomatoes.
  • 1 bay leaf
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil, chopped – $2.00
  • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Chop all the vegetables up separately.

2. Heat a skillet with olive oil on high heat.
3. Saute the eggplant and zucchini stiring and tossing until they are golden brown and tender. About 10 minutes.
4. Set the eggplant and zucchini into a large bowl.

5. Turn down the heat a little and add more olive oil.
6. Add the bell peppers and cook until they are tender. About 5 min.

7. Add the peppers to the large bowl of vegetables.
8. Add more olive oil and sautee the onions until they are soft. About 5 min.
9. Add garlic and continue for a few more minutes.
10. Lower the heat (to low) and add tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme and simmer until the mixture thickens. About 10 min.
11. Add all the other vegetables back in. And simmer until everything is heated through. Add salt and pepper.
12. In the end, stir in fresh chopped basil and balsamic vinegar.

Quick Notes

I have never made a stir fry this way, where I separate the vegetables! What a great idea. I find that anything cooked with tomatoes will turn out soggy. This way all the vegetables get their chance at cooking at their own pace and not cross contiminated with the other juices until the end. I will start to use this technique in my cooking when there are many vegetables all with different cooking times.

I didn’t have a bay leaf and thyme but I can say it was still delicious without. I can bet that there’ll be more flavours if I had added it.

Variations

Michael Smith’s book even mentions that “There are as many ways to make ratatouille as there are cooks, all with the same basic group of ingredients. The easiest method is to simply pile everything into a stockpot and simmer until tender. While this is a perfectly appropriate way to make a vegetable stew, it’s not the tastiest way. For maximum flavour try it this way”. I completely agree!

He also suggests you can make ratatouille with freshly made basil pesto, fresh oregano, sliced green onions or parsley. For a more Mediterranean flavour, try adding lots of kalamata-style black olives or artichoke hearts. You can also grill the eggplant, zucchini and peppers. This is definitely a good base recipe to start experimenting from.

Results


Wow, this simple easy to follow recipe really excites me because there’s so many possibilities with this base of ingredients. I’m going to definitely experiment with this recipe for the years to come. Next time I’m going to try Thomas Keller’s version with the thin cut vegetables instead so I can say I cooked the same dish as the movie :)

Remix

I’m not sure if anybody else thought of this – it probably has been done before. But I made Ratatouille and Bo Luc Lac as described in a previous blog post. What a GREAT combination of vegetables and meat. I mean the flavours of the vegetables really balanced out the meaty beef. If you’re looking for a truly fusion meal, try this out! I ate this for a few days and each time, I couldn’t believe how well it went together.

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Cookbook / Dessert / Recipe / Restaurant — View Comments
4
Jan 10

Magnolia Bakery :: Red Velvet Cupcakes

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Magnolia Bakery
One of the few things I truly miss about living in New York City is Magnolia Bakery’s red velvet cupcakes and cheesecakes. I discovered this beautiful dessert in New York and now I can’t live without it! Unfortunately, there is no Magnolia Bakery in Toronto, so I have to make do with baking it myself now. Red velvet is a light cocoa cake, made red by red food colouring, topped with cream cheese frosting. This cupcake looks gorgeous, red with white icing on top and is perfect for giving to friends as holiday treats. You can quite easily find the Magnolia Bakery Red Velvet Cake recipe online and in their cookbook. Make sure you ice the red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! See my other post for the cream cheese icing.

Summary

Preparation Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 10 min for each batch of cupcakes
Servings: 36 cupcakes
Meal type: Dessert
Grocery Cost: $ 6.00 ($0.20 per cupcake)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients

  • 3 ⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened ~ $2.00
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature ~ $0.62
  • 6 tablespoons (2-28mL bottles) red food coloring ~ $4.38
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa ~ $0.15
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract ~ $0.15
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk ~ $0.75
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar $0.10
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place cupcake papers in the tins.
3. In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Step 3
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.
5. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
Step 6
7. Divide the batter among the prepared cupcake liners.
Step 7
8. Bake each tray of cupcakes for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 1 hour.
Step
9. Ice each cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

Quick Notes

I’ve noticed that this cupcake batter comes out a bit thicker when compared to cooking with box cake mixes, such as Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, so don’t worry if the consistency seems a bit thick. Sometimes I half this recipe because I find 36 cupcakes too much, but this recipe seems to turn out better if I make the full batch instead of a half batch. If you do need to half the recipe, and need 1.5 eggs instead of 3, try cracking an egg into a bowl, mixing it, and using only half of the mixed egg.

Another tip that I always use is to bring out the butter, eggs and buttermilk beforehand to get it to room temperature before using it. This is a baker’s trick that works well.

Variations

I don’t really deviate too much from this recipe. I will use normal flour instead of cake flour, but I do sift it to make sure it’s fine.

Results

Red Velvet Cupcakes
As usual, the red velvet cupcake is a crowd pleaser. How could you go wrong with chocolate cupcake and cream cheese icing, especially when it looks this pretty? I used red sparkles to decorate the tops of the cupcakes to make it look more festive. Get creative with the decorating – it adds a lot to the cupcake!

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Cookbook / Side Dish — View Comments
3
Jan 10

Honey-Glazed Cipollini Onions

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Before I say anything else, I want to say that these were amazing! Fragrant, sweet, and flavourful; something you would get at a fancy restaurant. When you serve it on a dish for all to share, it looks so pretty with the thyme sprigs.

Summary

Preparation Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 6
Meal type: Dinner
Grocery Cost: $7 ($1.17/person)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★★ 

Ingredients

  • 20 oz. Cipollini Onions (1.25 lb) ~ $6
    Cipollini onions are known for their sweetness. They are small and flat on either end, making them look like little discs. I was prepared to replace them with pearl onions, which are also sweet, but was surprised when I didn’t have to. Sometimes your local supermarket carries them in small amounts. Search in the onion section. They may just have a few small packages (10 oz. each) of cipollini onions lying around.
  • 1 tbsp Canola Oil
  • 4 fresh Thyme Sprigs ~ $0.50
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 3 cloves Garlic, crushed, with skin left on
  • 1/2 cup Chicken Stock

Instructions for Honey-Glazed Cipollini Onions

This recipe can be found in Thomas Keller’s cookbook, ad hoc at home. I would recommend using a large heavy-bottomed pan for the execution of this recipe. The onions need to have their own space on the pan to brown properly. Don’t move them around too much. Just allow them to brown nicely and be patient.


You will need to transfer the pan with your browned onions directly into the oven, so make sure that your pan is also oven-proof.

Result

My only regret after I made this dish was that there weren’t too many onions per person. I ended up serving about 4 onions per person. The next time I make this, I will try to double it or make one and a half times the recipe since there was still some space on my pan. Otherwise, this was such an easy dish to make and so tasty!!

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Beef / Cookbook / Main — View Comments
29
Dec 09

Mushroom and Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin

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This particular recipe, I have actually been making for several years now, but when I found a very similar version in Thomas Keller’s book (ad hoc at home), I modified my own recipe a little bit in terms of technique. This one is always a crowd pleaser. Who doesn’t enjoy a beautiful cut of beef once in a while? So here it is…

Summary

Preparation Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Servings: 6
Meal type: Dinner
Grocery Cost: $58 ($9.67/person)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★★ 

Ingredients

  • 6 pieces Beef Tenderloin, 8 oz each (about 2” thick) ~ $50
  • 28 grams Dried Mushrooms (I like porcini) ~ $8
  • 1 tsp whole Black Peppercorns
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Instructions for Mushroom and Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin

1. Using a food processor, pulse the dried mushrooms and whole peppercorns into very small pieces. You will normally end up with some of your mixture in powder form and the rest in slightly larger bits. Pour this out onto a flat dish.
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2. Pat each piece of beef tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Then crust it with your dried mushroom and peppercorn mixture. You only need to crust it around its edges. If you can, do this the night before and saran wrap each piece tightly and refrigerate.
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3. The next day, take your tenderloins out of the refrigerator several hours before cooking. It is best to sear them at room temperature.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
5. Coat the tops and bottoms (i.e. your sear surfaces) with olive oil. I like to coat the meat with oil before searing rather than heating oil in the pan and then adding the meat to it because it reduces splatter.
6. Heat your pan on high. It needs to be very hot to sear properly. When a drop of water rolls across the surface of your pan, you know it’s ready. Sear each side of your tenderloins for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to crowd them or they will steam rather than sear. You should sear in batches if your pan is not large enough.
7. Bake them in the oven for 18 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow them to rest for 12 minutes on their baking sheet or pan.

Result

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If you follow the timing above, the tenderloins will be just medium. They will be very pink in the centres with no blood. You can also do a squish test if you have enough experience with cooking beef. The meat should have some give when you squish them with your tongs or press down on them with your finger.

I served this dish with Roasted Asparagus, and Thomas Keller’s Honey Glazed Cipollini Onions and Saffron Rice. See my previous post for my menu and other recipes.

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Cookbook / Side Dish — View Comments
17
Dec 09

A Thomas Keller Inspired Meal @ Home – Torn Croutons

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On December 13th, I had invited my parents, their friends and my fiance over for a fancy dinner at my place. Since meeting Thomas Keller a few weeks ago, I was inspired to revolve my meal around his new cookbook, ad hoc at home. It was a cold and wet day, so it was perfect for staying in and enjoying each other’s company.

THE MENU
********
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Torn Croutons*
~
Mixed Greens with Candied Ginger, Dried Pears, and Blueberry Red Wine Vinaigrette
~
Mushroom and Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin*
Honey-Glazed Cipollini Onions*
Saffron Rice*
Roasted Asparagus Spears
~
Red Wine Poached Pears with Mango Passionfruit Whipped Cream

Note: Recipes marked with an asterisk (*) can be found in ad hoc at home, by Thomas Keller

***The recipes will be provided in separate blogs, with the links provided here… Otherwise, this will be a REALLY long post!! :) The first featured dish will be Thomas Keller’s Torn Croutons***

Summary

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 50 min
Servings: 6-12, depending on how you are serving it
Meal type: Dinner
Grocery Cost: $3.10 ($0.26-0.52/person)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★★ 

Ingredients

IMG_5860

  • Garlic oil
    I made this with about 1/2 cup of canola oil and 8 cloves of garlic, crushed and skinned. By slowly roasting the garlic (without browning them), you flavour the oil subtly. After about 15-20 minutes, remove the garlic cloves and start on the rest of your recipe for Torn Croutons.
  • 3 cups of sourdough bread, torn into small pieces about 1.5″ square
    This is the only modification I made to Thomas Keller’s recipe. The moist, dense centres of sourdough, and its distinct flavour, adds a different dimension to the finished product.
  • 2 tbsp butter
    Since I love the flavour of butter, I added a tad more… Probably another 2 tbsp 0:)

Instructions for Torn Croutons

These croutons were heavenly!! They were crispy, creamy and VERY flavourful. I served them as a garnish for my Butternut Squash Soup, 3 in each. Although, in hindsight, I should have served more. This dish is heartwarming, perfect for the fall or winter. If you are only serving 6 people and only using the croutons as garnish (which I did), you really only need half of the original recipe.
Another thing I would like to add is, although these croutons are soaked with garlic oil and butter, they are worth sacrificing your diet for. I am definitely making these again!

The instructions for this recipe can be found in ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller. The steps are easy to follow and the results are amazing! As the torn pieces of bread are bubbling away in your pan, you will watch them turn from a tan colour to a nice dark brown.
IMG_5861
You don’t need to turn them very often. I left them for several minutes at a time before using chopsticks to turn them over. It may look charred or feel really hard when you are finished with your 20 minutes of cooking time, but believe me, they taste amazing. Since Thomas Keller recommends that you should keep them warm in the oil until you serve them, I had to throw out the remaining croutons. It was heartbreaking.

Result

I don’t know how to express how much I loved this dish and how great it turned out the first time I attempted it! I never knew I could make something I would only expect to be served in a restaurant. Also, I don’t have a deep fryer (not that I ever want one), but this seemed to achieve the same results. Who knew that some oil, garlic, butter & bread could make something so tasty! This is definitely a winner!
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*STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT RECIPE POST FROM MY MENU*

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Chef / Cookbook / Special Event — View Comments
9
Dec 09

UPCOMING EVENT: Exclusive Interview with Anna Olson

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Calling all food enthusiasts! YouCook will be conducting an exclusive interview with pastry chef and cookbook author, Anna Olson, and we are asking you to contribute your questions. This will be an amazing opportunity for you to ask her just about anything!

Whether you want to know what it was like to share a kitchen at Inn on the Twenty with her husband, or what Anna enjoys most when she is not working, just comment on this post and we will try our best to include it in our interview.

For more information on Anna Olson, check out her website:  www.annaolson.ca

Thanks for your ongoing support,
The YouCook Team

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Cookbook / Side Dish — View Comments
2
Dec 09

Jamie Oliver’s Risotto

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Risotto

In my self taught journey into the cooking world, I’ve always wanted to make risotto. It’s something I enjoy ordering at restaurants and from everyone I’ve heard, it’s always been a mystery on how to make it and how to perfect it. I looked through Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meal iPhone Application which I absolutely love and there it was, a whole section on risotto including a step by step video. The reason why I love the app is how simple but detailed it is. The ingredients can be quickly added to a shopping cart which you can check off as you shop. They also provide step by step instructions along with step by step pictures of each step. Another useful listing is of all the utensils and tools that will be needed. And lastly, there are videos where Jamie Oliver shows you how to cook – including how to make risotto. I’m rather impressed and the meals so far have turned out fantastic.

Ok back to risotto…I’ve modified the recipe based on what I could find at the grocery store. (I can’t believe our local grocery store didn’t have basil!) Also, I made my own vegetable broth during the day before I started to make the risotto. Making vegetable broth is super simple and way cheaper than what grocery stores charge you. All you have to do is heat up a pot of water (2L of water), put in all the carrots, onion, celery that you have in the house. Also add some salt and pepper to taste. Any number of vegetables works for broth. Just boil the water, add in all the vegetables, then keep it on low heat for a few hours. After evaporation, you get about 1.5L which is perfect.

Summary

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Servings: 4
Meal type: Dinner
Grocery Cost: $10

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion (large)
  • 3 sticks of celery
  • 1/3 stick of butter
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • 320g of risotto (about 80g per person)
  • 1.25 L of Vegetable broth
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 bunch of spinach
  • Parsley
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and celery into small pieces – I used a small electric chopper (a food processor works as well) only because I cry way too much when I chop onions by hand.
2. Heat up a large saucepan on medium heat and add olive oil. The pan that is ideal is large and flat on the bottom but also with high walls. I used a wok, which is less than ideal. Don’t do it…unless you have no other pans, like me!
3. Also, in a pot, heat up your vegetable broth to get ready to add to the risotto.
Broth
4. Add the onion and celery into the saucepan and stir until the vegetables are soft and translucent (and not brown)
5. Add the risotto rice to the pan. Continue to stir for a minute.
Risotto Beginning
6. Add a glass of wine in and continue to stir.
7.Repeat this step every few minutes for about 20 minutes: Add a ladleful of hot vegetable broth – stirring and distributing the liquid evenly through the rice. I’d do this every 3-4 minutes and leave it alone for 1 minute. You’ll see the rice start getting thicker and goo-ey. This texture is perfect. If it’s too soggy, you’re adding too much liquid too fast. If it’s dry, hurry up and add more broth. Don’t add more liquid until everything has been absorbed.
8. Once 20 minutes is up and the rice looks nice and oozy, turn off the heat.

9. You can multitask in this risotto cooking time by grating the parmesan cheese – I had about a 1/4 of a wedge left so used all of it
10. Add the cheese and butter and olive oil after the heat is turned off and mix it around – the risotto gets extra cheesy.
11. In a separate pan (multitask thread #3), heat it up to high heat, add the spinach, some water and salt and pepper for 2 minutes until all the spinach is wilted. Dry it in a colander.
12. Add the spinach and fresh parsley into the risotto.
13. Also season the risotto with salt and pepper.
14. Serve right away (I didn’t do this right away but you should cover it with a lid to keep it warm until you serve.

Quick Notes

I did substitute parsley for spinach. I also used more broth than Jamie Oliver recommended – however I think this is really dependent on how much rice you’re cooking and what it takes to get the right consistency.

Variations

In Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, each risotto recipe called for butter at different times in the cooking process. Also parmesan cheese was part of the cooking video but not actually in the spinach risotto recipe details. I really did enjoy the butter and parmesan cheese added after turning off the stove though. There was also a recipe which called for cutting up fish into chunks to mix into the risotto. I guess it’s like fried rice, where anything goes. I rather liked my simple classic combination of butter, parmesan, spinach and parsley though.

Results

Well, I’d call this first time a great success. I think we might have made too much risotto – it fed 4 for dinner with plenty extra for another 2-3 servings for lunch. I’d definitely make this dish again now that I know it isn’t that hard and doesn’t take too long. We had split the task of risotto and fish between the two of us and was ready to plate within 45 min.
Risotto Halibut

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