Grace (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} celestialblendr) wrote,@ 2009-03-25 20:49:00 |
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And foodiness ensued... (whee! a recipe!)
I’ve been sick since the weekend, living on mostly brothy soup, tea, toast, and orange juice for several days now. Tonight, I made this risotto along with pan-fried cod, breaded with cracker crumb, tarragon and smoked paprika, and topped with lemon-butter sauce, and asparagus sauteed with lemon, black pepper and salt. I suspect this meal would have tasted pretty good even if I had eaten a proper meal since Saturday, but, tonight, this tasted amazing.
About the rest of the meal I’ve probably told you as much as you need to know (though comment if you’d like to know more), but this risotto was the centerpiece as much as anything. It was a beautiful sweet, smooth foil to the sharpness of the lemon in the other two parts, and was delectibly sweet entirely due to the beet and onion, sauteed together at the beginning.
Sweet Beet Risotto
1/2 med. beet, washed and grated
1/2 med-large onion, diced
1 Tblsp. butter (or oil, if you want it vegan)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c stock (pref. mushroom stock)
2 Tblsp. parmesan cheese (optional)
(salt and pepper to taste)
Melt the butter (or heat oil) in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the grated beet, diced onion, and salt. Stir occasionally until the onion starts to be noticeably cooked and it starts to smell sweet. Add the tarragon and the rice. Stir this around a little before adding the water and stock. Turn down to med-low heat and stir occasionally to make sure it’s not sticking to the pot (as risotto is wont to do). When the liquid is mostly absorbed, leaving a creamy, tender risotto (30-40 minutes), add the parmesan cheese, check seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Variation: I actually used a little porcini mushroom powder in this, but I don’t expect most people to have that lying around. If you have a little whole or ground porcini to throw in, awesome, but I doubt there’ll be a horrible gaping hole without it. It’s probably more essential if you’re not adding cheese or mushroom stock, but you can be creative, too.
I’ve been sick since the weekend, living on mostly brothy soup, tea, toast, and orange juice for several days now. Tonight, I made this risotto along with pan-fried cod, breaded with cracker crumb, tarragon and smoked paprika, and topped with lemon-butter sauce, and asparagus sauteed with lemon, black pepper and salt. I suspect this meal would have tasted pretty good even if I had eaten a proper meal since Saturday, but, tonight, this tasted amazing.
About the rest of the meal I’ve probably told you as much as you need to know (though comment if you’d like to know more), but this risotto was the centerpiece as much as anything. It was a beautiful sweet, smooth foil to the sharpness of the lemon in the other two parts, and was delectibly sweet entirely due to the beet and onion, sauteed together at the beginning.
Sweet Beet Risotto
1/2 med. beet, washed and grated
1/2 med-large onion, diced
1 Tblsp. butter (or oil, if you want it vegan)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c stock (pref. mushroom stock)
2 Tblsp. parmesan cheese (optional)
(salt and pepper to taste)
Melt the butter (or heat oil) in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the grated beet, diced onion, and salt. Stir occasionally until the onion starts to be noticeably cooked and it starts to smell sweet. Add the tarragon and the rice. Stir this around a little before adding the water and stock. Turn down to med-low heat and stir occasionally to make sure it’s not sticking to the pot (as risotto is wont to do). When the liquid is mostly absorbed, leaving a creamy, tender risotto (30-40 minutes), add the parmesan cheese, check seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Variation: I actually used a little porcini mushroom powder in this, but I don’t expect most people to have that lying around. If you have a little whole or ground porcini to throw in, awesome, but I doubt there’ll be a horrible gaping hole without it. It’s probably more essential if you’re not adding cheese or mushroom stock, but you can be creative, too.
