Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

I liked pasta with radishes, so I thought I’d try risotto with radishes as well. The pasta with radishes seemed to need a little pancetta, and since pancetta is also good with monkfish I decided to combine the three of them. And it worked! I cooked the monkfish sous-vide, but if you don’t have sous-vide equipment you could just pan-fry the monkfish, being careful not to overcook it. Ingredients For 2 servings 225 grams (1/2 pound) monkfish fillet 80 grams (3 oz) pancetta, thinly sliced 1 bunch radishes with nice-looking leaves 2/3 cup risotto rice such as Arborio 2 cups … Continue reading Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

The inspiration for this risotto came from our wonderful dinner at De Librije, where the sea scallops with veal marrow, black garlic and a smoky jus of roasted celeriac was one of our favorite dishes. This is by no means my version of the same dish, I mainly used the idea of pairing scallops with smoky celeriac. At De Librije the dish was paired with a white burgundy from Cotes-de-Nuits, and I also happened to have one bottle of a white Cotes-de-Nuits 2006 left so we drank that with it (and I also used one glass for the risotto). Ingredients … Continue reading Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

Truffle, leek and shallot risotto (Risotto al Tartufo, porro e scalogno)

I don’t cook much with truffle, as the quality of the truffles available in the Netherlands is usually disappointing — especially considering the price. But when I got this dried truffle as a freebie to try out, I thought I’d make a nice risotto with it. For future reference I can point out that it is better to buy fresh truffle, because for the list price of this (1.5 grams of dried truffle and a bit of truffle-infused olive oil) at 8 euros ($10 US) you can usually buy 8 grams of fresh truffle (at least in Amsterdam), which will … Continue reading Truffle, leek and shallot risotto (Risotto al Tartufo, porro e scalogno)

Fennel risotto with Sea bream (Risotto di Finocchio con Orata)

Risotto or pasta is not served as a side dish in Italy, but sometimes you do get fish fillets served on top of a nice plate of risotto (in many cases raw, or just slightly cooked because the raw fillets are on top of the hot risotto). I really like the combination of a risotto made with fennel and home-made fish stock and a sea bream or seabass fillet, fried on the skin side only for juicy tender fish with crispy skin. Risotto takes some time and patience to make, but the texture is better if you do the proper … Continue reading Fennel risotto with Sea bream (Risotto di Finocchio con Orata)

Risotto sous-vide with Asparagus and Goat cheese

The traditional way of making risotto is a bit of a chore. Sauté a minced onion, toast the rice, add wine, and then keep adding stock and stirring for around 18 minutes. Finish with some butter and in many cases (but not always) grated parmigiano. Adding the stock in parts instead of all at once is needed to get the correct texture: the grains of rice will stay whole instead of breaking and will release more thickening starch. I don’t mind the effort, but for a weekday meal after work or for a dinner party it is not very convenient. … Continue reading Risotto sous-vide with Asparagus and Goat cheese

Risotto ai gamberoni (Risotto with jumbo shrimp)

When you are cooking with jumbo shrimp, always try to buy them with heads and shells on and peel them yourself. It is a little bit of work, but you can make a delicious stock from the heads and shells that is excellent to make a risotto or paella or to use for pasta sauce. If you are not using the heads and shells straight away, just throw them in the freezer until you do. Next time you will be able to make this very tasty risotto, for which you will need more heads and shells than than you will … Continue reading Risotto ai gamberoni (Risotto with jumbo shrimp)

Jerusalem artichoke risotto (Risotto al topinambur)

I just made this risotto with Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchoke, French: topinambour, Dutch: aardpeer or topinamboer) and it was so good that I wanted to blog about it straight away. Ingredients For 2 servings I used: 400 grams (0.9 lb) Jerusalem artichokes 120 grams risotto rice (arborio) 4 tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper 500 grams (1 pound) mixed aromatic vegetables for the stock: leeks, onions, carrots, celery stalks 1 bay leaf 1 shallot 1 glass (100 ml) of dry white wine olive oil optional: bit … Continue reading Jerusalem artichoke risotto (Risotto al topinambur)