Thursday, May 7, 2009

CEiMB- Garden Risotto

I was so excited when I saw that Jessica, who blogs over at A Singleton in the Kitchen, chose Garden Risotto for this week's CEiMB recipe. I have made lots of risotto in the past couple months and was interested to see how Ellie's recipe compared to some of my favorites.
Before I had tried making risotto, I thought it must be difficult because people always talked about it in a way that made it seem impossible to make at home. So not true.
I think it is easy to make. You just have to make sure that you stir. Plus, most the risotto recipes I have tried have been ready in about 30 minutes.
I don't even bother warming the broth because one of the recipes I made said it wasn't necessary. Anything I can do to lessen the amount of dishes there are, I will do it.
This risotto was uncomplicated. I liked that it had lots of veggies. I probably added 3x as much spinach as it called for because we liked spinach and it wilts away into almost nothing anyway.
Was this my favorite risotto I have ever tried? No. I would have to say that title belongs to the Butternut one or the Beet one or the one with steel-cut oats.
Or maybe the one with quinoa . Nevermind. I don't have a favorite.
This was a good solid risotto recipe. If I make this recipe again, I will leave out the peas. They added just a little bit too much sweetness. To see what everyone else thought check out the Blogroll!


Garden Risotto 2007, Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 lightly packed cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound asparagus, steamed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, the salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is almost tender and creamy-looking, about 18 minutes.
Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot. Stir in the Parmesan and more broth if the risotto seems too thick. Serve in soup plates.
Up Next-Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

11 comments:

Marie Rayner said...

I'd have to say my favourite risotto is a butternut squash one as well Mary Ann, but this does look delicious! Your pictures are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

We loved it. I don't eat risotto much so I'd have to say this WAS my favorite. Your pics look terrific.

Meghan said...

Your risotto looks delicious! I made a primavera risotto of Ina Garten's about two months ago, and I agree with you, the peas should go. Plus, I love that Ellie has a version of it, because I'm sure it's healthier! I can't wait to try that butternut squash risotto!

Sara said...

The risotto looks great - beautiful pictures. I have read many conflicting opinions about heating the broth, how much to stir the rice, etc. I say whatever works is what you should do :)

Geoff said...

Ohh... I love peas in my risotto- yours looks fantastic. Great pictures!

Marthe said...

Another great recipe from Elie that I'll be making again!! Yours looks realy good!

Jennifer said...

Your risotto looks great! I agree that this is not my favorite risotto, but it was good! I liked all the vegetables!

Anonymous said...

Your risotto looks healthy and delicious. I still need to make a risotto with rice. Have not done that yet.

nick said...

Don't listen to Geoff, he is a dummy. Peas = yuck = leave out of every recipe.

Beautiful pics again this week!

Peggy said...

I have to agree with Nick on the peas. I could leave them out and be happy. But husband loves them so I made it with this time. We loved this. Yours looks really really really good!!

AJM said...

I love your photography. I had a hard time taking a pretty picture of this risotto, it tended to glob out into a giant mass, but yours are gorgeous:)