Posts Tagged: risotto

Appetizer / Olympics — View Comments
14
Mar 11

Arancini

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Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)


Arancini


Deep fried risotto. Need I say anything more to sell this dish? I can’t think of any better combination than the creamy texture of risotto bursting out of it’s crispy deep fried shell. It’s also the perfect way to use up leftover risotto, and can even be made partially in advance and stored in the freezer until it’s time to fire up the fryer!

This version of arancini, supplied by Chef Taryn Wa from Savoury Chef Food last year at a Vancouver Olympics event at the Northern House uses Japanese panko for breading and provolone cheese with sundried tomatoes as filling. It’s so delicious and there’s almost no way you can make this dish not tasty! We even put in fillings of pancetta, mushroom, red peppers into our arancini balls.

Summary


Preparation Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 60 min , including 15 mins cooling time.
Total Time: 70 min
Servings: 20 balls
Meal type: Appetizer
Cost: $17

Ingredients

  • 120 g arborio rice, $4 for a 750g bag. ~$0.65
  • 20 g white onion, diced fine, $1
  • 2 g garlic, fresh whole peeled, $0.50
  • 4 sprigs of thyme, fresh, $2
  • 12 ml olive oil extra virgin
  • 20 g grana padano cheese, $3
  • 20 ml dry white wine, $4 for a 200 ml bottle
  • 2 l water, boiling
  • 100 g provolone cheese, $5.49 for 250 g package. ~$2.50
  • 40 g sun dried tomatoes, $0.90 from antipasto bar
  • 0.5 g sea salt
  • 0.5 g pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g flour
  • 100 g panko bread, $2.50

Instructions


Make the risotto
1. Heat water in pot
2. In a separate pot, sweat thyme, onion and garlic in olive oil until transluscent
3. Add rice and sautee for 2 minutes
Rice, thyme, onion, and garlic being sauteed
4. Add wine and cook until wine has evaporated
5. Add 125 ml water and cook until evaporated
6. Repeat until rice is fully cooked (just slightly past al dente)
7. Add Grana Padano and stir until combined
8. Cool rice in a thin layer on a baking tray
Cool rice in a thin layer on a baking tray
Tip:Make some extra risotto and have some dinner while you wait for the rest to cool

Assembling
Roll 20g of rice into a ball and fill
9. Once rice is cool, take 20 g rice, roll into a ball and fill with 1 piece each of provolone and sundried tomato
Tip:While the natural instinct is to just pick some risotto up and start rolling it around in your hands, we found that we just ended up with risotto stuck to our hands. It was a lot easier to assemble the risotto balls using a spoon (or a small ice cream scoop) than rolling it around in our hands.
Using a spoon to ball the arancini
Also, get creative and try different fillings such as roasted tomatoes or prosciutto

Breading
10. Beat eggs with salt and pepper in a shallow dish
11. Put flour and panko in shallow dishes
Sundried tomato, provolone, panko, flour, egg in shallow dishes

Breading method
12. Dip arancini into the following:

  1. Flour
  2. Egg
  3. Flour
  4. Egg
  5. Panko

Rolled Arancini

Frying
13. Fry at 375 degrees F until golden brown.
We used an infrared temperature gun to get to the right temperature. We found that right after putting in the arancini balls, it brought down the temperature significantly so we had to keep playing with the stove settings to keep the oil at that temperature.
IR temperature gun
Use a high temperature oil to fry the arancini, such as canola oil, soy oil, or sunflower oil. If you don’t have a deep-fryer, just put some oil in a pot – just be careful not to let the temperature get too hot or it will smoke and eventually combust. Do not use olive oil, this is not a high temperature oil.
Frying arancini

Results

sundried tomatoes inside arancini
Like I said, I don’t think there’s a way you can go wrong while making this dish. The risotto takes some patience as it takes a good 20-30 minutes of active cooking time, but almost anything you throw in the risotto or stuff in the arancini tastes so yummy.
Arancini

 

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Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

Easton Hamilton / Seafood / Winterlicious — View Comments
22
Jan 10

YouCook makes Cajun Paella

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Alright, I was eager to try La Maquette’s recipe for Cajun Paella Risotto after the Toronto team visited Chef Easton Hamilton! I have always loved Paella in Barcelona and order it any chance I get at Spanish restaurants but have never made it at home. I wanted to see how the risotto goes with the Paella. Of course I’ll describe to you the pitfalls and learnings of a home chef :)

Vegetable Stock

I really hate forking out more than $1 to buy vegetable broth from a can or box. It doesn’t even take much time to make so I always try to make it myself.

All you need is 2 stalks of celery, 1 onion and 1 or 2 carrots (yup that’s less than $1!). Heat up a large pot of water – I put 2L of water in. Add in a bit of olive oil, chop up the vegetables into thick slices. Bring it to a boil, add salt and pepper and put in all the vegetables.

I also added parsley to this stock because I had some on hand and a bay leaf. That’s about it, leave the heat on low and let it brew for about an hour. I didn’t use much of it because I didn’t end up making risotto but you can easily freeze it to use at a later time. We came up with the idea of putting them in ice cube trays, so you’d have individual portions of veggie broth when you need it. Another way is to fill up Glad sandwich bags since you can stack them and they don’t take up much space in the fridge.

Arborio Rice

To my disappointment – I went on an Arborio rice search across downtown Vancouver today with no luck! 2 Safeways, an IGA and Save-on-Foods. They had every kind of pasta and rice except for Arborio rice! What gives? Has there been a sudden increase of interest in making risotto?? Does anybody know why?!?! Tell us!

Well as a backup I got Uncle Ben’s long grain wild rice so I didn’t make risotto. However in the rice cooker, I did add the celery and onions I was going to put in the risotto – the rice turned out delicious!

Spanish rice is supposed to be medium grain rice thats browned with onion and garlic first. I shall try that next time if I can’t hunt down my risotto rice.

Good old Uncle Ben’s to the rescue :)

Proportions

Since I was cooking for 3, I doubled Chef Easton’s recipes to make enough for 4 (left overs are awesome). I find cooking for 4 a little easier because doubling his recipe means using a whole onion and all the peppers which is convenient. I also put in way more mussels and 3 Italian sausages and shrimp. I compensated by using only 1 small chicken breast.

Here’s everything prepped in my kitchen:

Chicken:

Shrimps:

Sausages:

Mussels:

Instructions

I definitely enjoyed following this simple recipe after getting everything chopped up and prepared. I found that instead of waiting 2 min in between adding the different meats, I’d wait 4-5min instead – just in case. The steps are really easy to follow – I doubled the spices, vegetable stock called for as well.

Adding chicken:

Adding sausages:

Results

I really love the colour and texture that the dish turned out to be. My pan was so overloaded with stuff that I opted out of adding rice to it. I didn’t end up using any salt or pepper as seasoning because I think the sausage was salty and the cajun spice gave the dish a great flavour.

I also added chopped parsley into the dish which turned out really good. The chef recommended trying different meats and experimenting with different spices however I stuck to the instructions and really like this combination!!!! I was so happy when my friends opted to go for seconds :) I think the verdict is….MAKE THIS DISH! I really recommend it. It’s not hard and so delicious. The hardest/time consuming part is going grocery shopping.

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Main / Seafood / Winterlicious — View Comments
21
Jan 10

Winterlicious Recipe Feature: La Maquette Cajun Risotto Paella

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Last week YouCook visited La Maquette, voted one of the most romantic restaurants in Toronto, to make their featured Cajun Risotto Paella on the Winterlicious menu. “Risotto Paella?!” you ask? Yep that’s right and the Arborio rice adds just enough twist to the classic paella to make it special while fully satisfying your craving for seafood and rice. Chef Easton Hamilton took the time to show us how to make this dish …and we even got to eat it !!!

Use our What.2.Eat application to see what else La Maquette has on their Winterlicious menus and vote on your favourite dish during Winterlicious!

Summary

Preparation Time: 20 mins.
Cook Time: 15 mins.
Servings: 2 large portions.
Meal type: Main
Grocery Cost: $23.63 (good enough to feed 4)

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 


Ingredients for Risotto

  • 1 cup of Arborio rice ($2.00)
  • 1/2 medium white onion, diced ($0.20)
  • 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (1 onion + 2 celery stalks + 2 carrots = $1.00)
  • 2 oz. white wine ($2.00)

Ingredients for Paella

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 6 large P.E.I. mussels ($5.00 for 20 mussels)
  • 4 black tiger shrimp ($4.00 for 12 shrimps)
  • 4 oz. chicken breast, diced ($3.00 for 1 chicken breast)
  • 4 oz. chorizo sausage, sliced ($4.00 for 3 sausages)
  • 2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 3 oz. julienne red and yellow bell pepper (1.20)
  • 3 oz. julienne red onion ($0.50)
  • 1 Tbsp chopped shallots ($0.23)
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp marjarom
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste ($0.50)


    • Sausages, mussels, and chicken breast along with the other prepped ingredients in the La Maquette kitchen.


    The cut up chorizo sausage pieces, ready to go in the pan


    Julienned peppers for colour

    Instructions for Risotto

    To prepare the risotto (can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated):
    1. Sautee white onion with oil over medium heat until translucent, about 2 mins.
    2. Add Arborio rice and sautee for another 3 mins. stirring occasionally (do not let rice go brown, cook just long enough to remove starch, should be gluey).
    See our previous Risotto post for details on how to cook risotto.
    3. Add white wine and vegetable stock and cook for about 8-10 mins until rice is half cooked.
    4. Spread risotto on a non-stick baking sheet to cool.

    Instructions for Paella

    1. Sautee red onions and shallots with butter and olive oil over medium heat, about 2 mins.

    2.Add cajun seasoning and white wine


    Chef’s tip: Make sure you follow the correct order to add in the chicken, mussels, shrimp, and sausage because shrimp can’t be overcooked and the sausage is precooked so it will fall apart if you cook it for too long.
    3. Add diced chicken and cook for another 2 mins.

    4. Add mussels and enough vegetable stock to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for another 2 mins.

    Chef’s tip: To add some flavour and colour, you can spoon in a scoop of tomato paste.

    5.Take mussels out and set aside

    6. Add shrimps and cook for another 2 mins.

    7.Add sausage

    8.Add marjarom, oregano, and the rest of the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Add red/yellow peppers.
    9. Add rice and simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

    Variations

    Chef Easton suggests that you substitute different meats into the dish according to your taste. Try out different meats or seafood and see what you like!

    Results


    Add some grated beets for garnish and VOILA! A beautiful, flavourful dish that’s very quick to make.

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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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